The other hijackers were released from their Pakistani jail in 2008, against the wishes of India and the US. Amid sobs and applause from victims and relatives of those killed in the 1986 hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 in Karachi, Pakistan, Zaid Hassan Abd Latif Safarini -- leader of an Abu Nidal terrorist . The gunmen positioned themselves on either side of the aisles. Also, a sentencing date will be scheduled (probably for some time in the spring of 2004). December 12, 2002 - The government files a notice of its intent to seek the death penalty against defendant Safarini, as well as a legal brief in response to defendant Safarini's motion seeking to bar the availability of the death penalty in this case. While they relayed the events to a private FBI meeting a week after the hijack, and to a parole hearing for the lead hijacker in 2005, this is the first time they have shared details with the media. (Photo: AP) In 2003, Zayd Safrini pleaded guilty to 95 charges which included . After 33 years, the tragedy is still haunting. Budget 2023. The motions hearing will go forward on May 5, 2003. And then another militant, his AK-47 and grenades in clear view, instructed Sunshine to take him to the captain. A form was provided for victims to let the prosecution team know if they are interested in attending and/or speaking at the sentencing proceeding. Our tickets got confirmed at the last moment in Pan-Am Flight-73, which was headed to New York via Karachi and Frankfurt from . It shocked the world, and is the subject of a newly released film, but the surviving crew have until now remained silent. Herhold: The heritage of a 24-year-old hijacking, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Los Gatos: Hundreds still without power as Black Road repair project finishes early. Nevertheless, Crowell & Mooring has insisted that the sharing provision applies. Shama, another friend, had two bullet injuries in her head. Students who switched tickets escaped the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing. Calling the fight sad and disheartening, Newberger said the sharing clause was originally put in the agreement to stop infighting among the 178 plaintiffs. October 1, 2001 - Defendant Safarini is brought before a federal judge in Anchorage, Alaska, where he is ordered to be held and transported to the District of Columbia to face the charges pending against him. The shooting began when the hijackers fired in panic as the lights went out in the Boeing 747 on a runway in Karachi, Pakistan, on Friday. Nobody knew what to do. During their interviews with the BBC, they stressed that there was no single hero that day, that crew members not interviewed played an equally important role, and that they want survivors of terror attacks like 9/11 and Paris to know that life goes on. The stench of her blood haunts me even today. Share it now! It remains the worlds deadliest air disaster. Suresh GopalkrishnanProfession: Businessman, ChennaiAge: 55I was a carefree and free-spirited 23 year old boy, working with a German company, on my way to Paris. Around 4 pm, we were served some cold drinks and snacks.The most incredible memory is that of Neerja gesturing the passengers to hide their American passports. Shahs family members, whom he had sent to Bombay to visit friends and relatives, were apparently uninjured. On Mar. No one aboard the KLM aircraft survived, and only 71 people escaped from the Pan Am wreckage. One of the four hijackers, Mrs. George recalled, said Americans killed his wife and whole family. And Davs attorney, Lee Boyd, says the law firm erred by not expressly including the possibility of a treaty in its Joint Prosecuting Agreement. Sherene says she knew then that time was running out. The great eye opener though was the compassion shown by Pakistanis. These were the 2 cockpit observers who may as well be considered passengers, 2 flight attendants, and 12 passengers. A 16-hour standoff at Jinnah International Airport in Karchi ended with 22 hostages dead and some 150 injured. 19 Jan, 2018, 11.19 PM IST. Shama, another friend, had two bullet injuries in her head.. We stood still and numb, long after the end credits rolled. They have thrown every bit of their resources into trying to shut her up.. "Survivors [of such atrocities] are living each day with the memories," says Madhvi. emailStay Connected The victims were recognized for their extraordinary bravery during the September 5, 1986 terrorist hijacking of Pan Am . Janki Vyas VasantProfession: Founder of Samvedna, an NGOAge: 51At the tender age of 20, I saw death so closely, losing two of my close friend and a teacher. My friend was drenched in blood. Khanjan Dalal, who survived the hijack of Pan Am Flight 73 in September 1986, has lauded Sonam Kapoor starrer "Neerja". The battle between the Dav group and the law firm is now in arbitration in D.C. That didnt seem right., Stuart Newberger, the lead lawyer for Crowell & Moring, has said in a court filing that he considers the Davs case to be an attempt to increase the recovery of some members of the victim group obviously at the expense of the others.. The Boeing 747, known as the Clipper Maid of the Seas, left London Heathrow with 243 passengers and 16 crew members, including 189 Americans. 2023 BBC. The gunmen's plan was to force the pilots to fly them to Cyprus and Israel, where other members of their militant group were incarcerated on terror charges. Eventually the militants threatened that, as a pilot had not materialised, a passenger would be shot every 15 minutes. They didn't discuss the hijack. The two girls narrowly escaped a deadly fusillade. I realised I was completely drenched in my mothers blood. She went to save the kids who were stuck inside and got shot from behind. They pushed her down first, then jumped out themselves. That plot was averted when the pilots climbed out of an emergency cockpit of the Boeing 747. "I noticed immediately that the escape devices in the cockpit had been deployed. (Credits: Solo shots - individuals' own; group shot: Pan Am crew Facebook page), The crew now: (From top left to bottom right), all credits to the individuals) Sherene, Massey, Madhvi, Sunshine, Dilip, Nupoor, Passenger Mike Thexton has praised the flight attendants' bravery, A film has recently been released about Neerja Bhanot, who was fatally injured in the hijack. Those who were sitting straight got shot in the legs while others who had ducked got shot in the heads as their guns were pointed downwards. Victim impact statements should be submitted to the prosecution team by March 1, 2004. BY xms3200 - Sun Oct 30, 2005 9:04 am. I realised I had survived. It was just before 06:00 and Pan Am Flight 73, on a stopover in Karachi from Mumbai, was scheduled to continue on to Frankfurt, en route to New York. "See a copy of the Government's Sentencing Memorandum, See a copy of the text of the prosecutors' allocution narrative during the sentencing proceeding, View the PowerPoint presentation shown by the prosecutors during the sentencing proceeding, Read the Government's press release concerning the sentencing, See a copy of the Transcript of Sentencing Proceeding - May 12, 2004, See a copy of the Transcript of Sentencing Proceeding - May 13, 2004, Week of July 5, 2004 - Defendant Safarini was transferred by the Bureau of Prisons to the Administrative Maximum facility in Florence, Colorado, also referred to as "SuperMax.". November 7, 2001 - The Court finds that, due to the complexity of the case, it would be unreasonable to expect the parties to prepare for trial within the time limits established by the Speedy Trial Act (usually 70 days). July 21, 2003 - The court began hearing arguments on the government's motion for the court to reconsider its ruling barring the death penalty in this case. The men entered the Boeing 747, firing shots into the air. But Pan-American Flight 759 crashed . When the airhostess were asked to collect our passports, she was smart enough to not collect the US passports. The latter apparently was not hurt. . After the terrorists opened fire, I lay down flat fearing I could get killed any moment. The following is a ast of known survivors of the Pan American Boeing 747 involved in the Canary Island crash as provided Monday to The Associated Press by Pan Am officials: CULBERTSON, Slcohen, Green Valley, Arizona. See Her Life in Photos, Mickey Guyton and Grant Savoy's Relationship Timeline, Girl, 11, Speaks Out After Dad's Bear Hug Saves Her Life in Airplane Crash, Gloria Estefan and Emilio Estefan's Relationship Timeline, The Cutest Longterm Celebrity Couple Throwback Photos, All of Princess Diana's PEOPLE Magazine Covers Through the Years, Shaquille O'Neal and Ex Shaunie's Relationship Timeline, On the 110th Anniversary of Titanic's Sinking, Revisit Chilling Tales of Life and Death from the PEOPLE Archives. It changed my perception. Neerja's colleagues say she was still alive when she arrived at Karachi's Jinnah Hospital. One was naturalized citizen Rajesh Kumar, 29, of Huntington Beach. The hearing on motions not related to the death penalty will continue on September 10, 2003, not on June 16, 2003, as previously scheduled. I knew non-Americans could go to their own governments. Sign up for our newsletter and other special offers: Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall Turns 75! While on a routine stopover in Pakistan, Pan Am Flight 73 was hijacked by four armed Palestinian terrorists. When our flight landed in Karachi, the hijackers entered the aircraft wearing security guard uniforms. We sat in that position for almost three hours.After a point we couldnt help but plead them to let us use the washrooms. Rich L.A. homeowners are snapping them up, The problem with Pablo Escobars hippos. When her dead body arrived in Mumbai, she looked fresh and beautiful because all her wounds were on her back.Had there been a VIP or a minister on our plane; all the lives would have been saved. In 2005, at the urging of other Flight 73 survivors, she and her sister joined a group that hired the Washington, D.C. law firm of Crowell & Moring to pursue claims against the Libyan government, which had backed several international terrorist exploits, including the 1988 Pan Am explosion over Lockerbie, Scotland. I was from a business family, married into another business family but I chose to start an NGO, providing education for the underprivileged after going through this tragedy. 'Flight 73' is a Non-fiction, based on the true events that had happened on 6th September, 1986 while Pan-Am Clipper 73 was hijacked on the ground in Karachi, Pakistan. Meherjee Kharas, a 28-year-old Pan Am mechanic on board, was forced to make radio contact with negotiators outside. n the afternoon of Dec. 21, 1988, Syracuse University student Matthew Trento walked into New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, ready to make what he thought would be a routine connection between a Pan Am flight and a Piedmont plane bound for Syracuse. These sentences are later commuted to life sentences. Survivors that later died. Their guns were on silent, so we didnt realise he was killed and thrown out. The way I looked at life changed.I remember the terrorists dashing in from the front door near the pantry, holding Neerja at gun point. [17], One of the four, Jamal Saeed Abdul Rahim, was allegedly killed in a dr The Sentencing Response Form should be submitted by February 12, 2004. As part of that agreement, the Dav sisters signed a document called a Joint Prosecuting Agreement, which obligated them to share money from any judgments with all the Crowell & Moring plaintiffs, including non-Americans. "The hijack is far from over for me and my colleagues. A total of 112 survivors of Flight 73 had arrived in the United States late Sunday, landing at New York's Kennedy International Airport, where they were met by relatives, friends, reporters and . To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. The crew of Pan Am Flight 73 (three of whom are pictured here with their colleagues) were all in their early to mid 20s at the time of the hijack. Today, the California sisters, along with several other passengers from Flight 73, are locked in a legal struggle with the law firm that represented them in the battle to win damages from the government of Libya, which funded the hijackers. On September 5, 1986, Pan Am flight 73, a Boeing 747, departed Mumbai for New York with scheduled stops in Karchi and Frankfurt. Some of us, passengers and crew alike, are still struggling with the skeletons of the past, trying to fix the puzzle of incidents, sequences, people who were involved in the chains of events," says Nupoor. They occasionally worked the same flight and ran into each other at layovers. I wanted to give the pilots time to escape in case they were still in the process of climbing down the ropes outside the plane. The answer: "We are Pan Am Flight 914 en route from New York to Miami, Florida, with a crew of 4 and 57 passengers on board." At this point, the control tower personnel were stunned in silence. We went to all the hospitals looking for our people. October 17, 1990. Jenny White's parents Bryan and Margaret were touring the United States, stopping off in New Orleans and preparing to fly to Las Vegas on July 9, 1982. At the plea proceeding on December 16th, the terms of the plea agreement will be made public and the defendant is expected to admit his guilt. You can argue that setting aside the lawsuit brought by Crowell & Moring was one of the benefits to Libya in signing a pact and therefore that the lawyers deserve some payment for their work. When our flight landed in Karachi, the hijackers entered the aircraft wearing security guard uniforms. See a copy of the superseding indictment. But, Pan Am Flight 214 . Gargi Dave was among the survivors of a shootout aboard a jetliners hijacked by Pakistani terrorists. (Karen T. Borchers/Mercury News). Contact Scott Herhold at sherhold@mercurynews.com or 408-275-0917. The Pakistani military boarded the plane and the ensuing shootout killed 22 people. The elderly woman, a resident of a village outside Bombay, had been on her way to Southern California with Kumar and Kumars aunt, Gangaben Patel. He spoke to Witness about that terrible disaster. Contact the Webmaster to submit comments. May 19, 2003 - A status hearing was held during which the Court decided to vacate (cancel) the September 8th trial date, pending the resolution of the government's motion for the court to reconsider its ruling barring the death penalty in this case. Irja Skabo, 38, was one of Pan Am's more experienced stewardesses and she often worked in the first class cabin. The US was paid 1.5 billion dollars in compensation by Libya. Its harder to argue that the international clients the bulk of the Crowell & Moring clients should benefit from a treaty designed to benefit only American victims. September 18, 2002 - Attorneys for defendant Safarini file a motion to bar the government from seeking the death penalty against the defendant, arguing that a death sentence in this case would violate the ex post facto clause of the Constitution. . September 5, 1986 - Hijacking of Pan Am flight #73 in Karachi, Pakistan. After complaints by families in the United States that they had been unable to get accurate information about their kin on the jetliner, a spokeswoman for a State Department task force said American consular officials were empowered only to deal with U.S. citizens. The Abu Nidal Organisation (ANO), which they were members of, was opposed to US and Israeli policy in the Middle East. When the survivors recall the deadly memory, their hearts start racing and their spines become chilled.