We were asked to hold our hands behind and bow down. Sixteen-month-old Melissa Trahan, on stretcher, is rushed from the scene of the crash of Pan Am Flight 759 in Kenner, La. Joani and Jack sat in first . BY xms3200 - Sun Oct 30, 2005 9:04 am. Download a PDF reader or learn more about PDFs. Sunshine and Dilip were also on the wing, but in the darkness couldn't gauge the distance of the drop. I ran bare feet for almost two kilometres on the tarmac. 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. Melissa Missy Trahan was just 16 months old when she was rescued from the rubble of Pan Am Flight 759 in Kenner, Louisiana, on July 9, 1982. '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. The powerful emotions that stick in Gargi Dav's heart and mind from the hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 nearly a quarter-century ago mix the horrific with the unexpectedly kind, the blessing of . 25th 1977, two 747's crashed into each other in. 'Grey's Anatomy' Cast: Where Are They Now? Pan Am officials said 16 survivors of the hijacking were booked on the plane that arrived in Los Angeles from New York on Monday afternoon. Read about our approach to external linking. We had a screening of Neerja for the survivors. Subscribe An official website of the United States government. The court date of November 17, 2003, which had previously been set as a date to hear arguments on legal motions not related to the death penalty, has been converted to a status conference. The motions hearing will continue on Monday, June 16, 2003. Neerja Bhanot was working as a senior flight attendant for Pan American World Airways when tragedy struck on the morning of Sept. 5, 1986. I cant imagine what the babys mother must have gone through then.When people began escaping, the terrorists, who initially walked in wearing airport security uniforms, changed their clothes and tried to escape with the rest of us. After the crash, Trahan and her father, who was working when the plane hit, moved away from Kenner to be closer to family. Not hearing any more gunfire, but not knowing where the gunmen were, they went back into the dark plane to look for survivors. We were pushed to another compartment of the aircraft. (From top left): Nupoor, Sunshine, Sherene, Dilip. There was a buzz that they had a time bomb on them, which could explode. 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 . The FBIs Hazardous Devices School at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama is the only facility in the country that trains and certifies the nations public safety bomb technicians. Members Only. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! No Thanks "This changed everything. I lay down on my family, my small child and other baby . It was a strange feeling. Sherene, and another colleague Ranee Vaswani, were the last two hostages to leave the plane. He joked and flirted, invited her to go with him to Cyprus, and promised to teach her to swim. He made me wear a burkha and we stepped out as the security wasnt allowing me to step out. Each of the men is on the FBIs Most Wanted Terrorists List. March 27, 1977 is a date permanently etched in aviation history. PUBLISHED 12:35 PM ET Oct. 18, 2019. Over a long time, it looked like the Dav sisters and the rest of the passengers on the Pan Am flight would never see a penny in compensation for their suffering. I started running towards the terminus. But a New York law firm is trying to wrest 90 percent of the settlement away from Dave and nine other survivors. It took a tremendous amount of courage, said her attorney, Boyd. The court rescheduled the hearing to continue on Wednesday, August 13, 2003, at 10:00 a.m. August 13, 2003 - Legal arguments were held before Judge Sullivan, with the attorneys for the government and the defense arguing their positions on the government's motion for the court to reconsider its ruling barring the death penalty in this case. 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. Well, kind of, Video shows Memphis jailers beating Black inmate before his death, Skin lesion removed from President Bidens chest last month was cancerous, doctor says, Desperate mountain residents trapped by snow beg for help; We are coming, sheriff says, Newsom, IRS give Californians until October to file tax returns, Before and after photos from space show storms effect on California reservoirs, Latinx Files: In praise of Jenna Ortega, Aubrey Plaza and moody, deadpan Latinas. But, Pan Am Flight 214 . Age: 40Profession: ArtistI was 12 then and travelling with my mother Trupti Dalal. He repeatedly led either Sunshine or Sherene at gunpoint up to the upper deck cockpit, using them as human shields while he peeked round them to have a look outside. 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. He also recommended that the Bureau of Prisons assign the defendant to the Administrative Maximum facility in Florence, Colorado, also referred to as "SuperMax. ", See a copy of the Sentencing Response Form, See a copy of the Victim Impact Statement Form, Read a copy of the handbook "Coping After Terrorism: Information for Victims and Survivors of Pan Am Flight #73 Hijacking, May 12-13, 2004 - A sentencing proceeding was held before Judge Sullivan, attended by more than 50 victims and family members, many of whom provided powerful and emotional statements during the two-day proceeding. This action was undertaken in coordination with a joint announcement with the U.S. Department of State that the Rewards for Justice Program is offering a reward of up to $5 million each for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of the four individuals Wadoud Muhammad Hafiz al-Turki , Jamal Saeed Abdul Rahim, Muhammad Abdullah Khalil Hussain ar-Rahayyal, and Muhammad Ahmed al-Munawar all believed to have been members of the Abu Nidal terrorist organization. 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. Forty minutes into the flight, the plane had reached the coast of 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. That fateful night our tickets were not confirmed. In 1986, Pakistani terrorists hijacked a US-bound plane in a drama that left 22 passengers dead. Become a Member. Then I was pushed gently from an exit and I landed on the tarmac. Mike Thexton, a passenger on the plane, describes the act in his book What Happened to The Hippy Man? I climbed back into the aircraft and then ran to the rear exit. In panic mode, they opened gunfire. I realised I had survived. They threw the hand grenades too, one of which fell on my friend Rupal (18), sitting next to me. 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. Eventually the militants threatened that, as a pilot had not materialised, a passenger would be shot every 15 minutes. "Neerja was an excellent airhostess. Had they not, the terrorists would have taken the flight somewhere and blown up the aircraft. The court set a briefing schedule regarding the government's motion to reconsider the death penalty ruling. But for how long could one possibly bow down? I knew we couldnt jump down from the high wing. T. M. George, 45, an auto parts store manager, was wounded in the back when he tried to shield his family from gunfire. Print. If you wish to contact the FBI case agent assigned to this matter, Special Agent Michael OCallaghan, any of the prosecutors handling this matter, Jennifer Levy, Gregg Maisel or Robert Bowman, or victim-witness advocate Yvonne Bryant you may do so at USADC.PanAm73@usdoj.gov. Scott Herhold is a former San Jose metro columnist. She was hit with a bullet in her skull and had injuries on her chest and hands. If you have any questions regarding the legal proceedings in this case, please contact us at USADC.PanAm73@usdoj.gov. The next status hearing in the case is now scheduled for Monday May 19, 2003, at 2:00 p.m. Like I say, there are many shades of gray here. Today, shes taken a leave from her San Diego-based firm to help with the Flight 73 litigation. On Pan Am 1736, seven of the 16-member flight crew, along with two company employees and 61 passengers, survived, although nine later died of their injuries. Judge Sullivan also recommended that the defendant never receive parole. I turned more patriotic, pious and mind you not religious rather spiritual after this incident. There were 14 flight attendants on board, 12 of whom were preparing for take-off. On September 5, 1986, Pan Am flight 73, a Boeing 747, departed Mumbai for New York with scheduled stops in Karchi and Frankfurt. Asked about the role of Pakistani commandos in ending the hijack episode, he said grimly, None of the people saw any commandos., When the lights went out in the plane, he said, the terrorists killed indiscriminately, firing their machine guns from less than a yard away.. We had no choice but to follow the terrorists instructions. [17], One of the four, Jamal Saeed Abdul Rahim, was allegedly killed in a dr But if they accede to the demands of the law firm, Crowell & Moring, to share the money with the 137 non-Americans in the case, the Davs estimate they would lose 90 percent of the money negotiated for them. I could see the terrorists walking up and down the aisle, trying to negotiate. Also, a sentencing date will be scheduled (probably for some time in the spring of 2004). Unable to fly the plane, the terrorists started by executing an American and dumping his body out the door of the plane. Meherjee, the mechanic, told Safarini that the emergency power would last 15 minutes or so before the aircraft would be plunged into darkness. Philadelphia, flight attendant, SARP, Aytel, Arlington. Safarini was still on board when Pakistan's security forces entered the plane. The terrorists, members of the Abu Nidal organization, had planned to crash the plane into a sensitive Israeli target in Tel Aviv. '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. The spokeswoman said anyone calling the State Department for information about a permanent resident would have been advised to call the embassy representing the passengers nationality. "The stories may differ but the spirit remains the same.". We were helpless, said Mary George, 37, of Norwalk. After the terrorists opened fire, I lay down flat fearing I could get killed any moment. The crash killed all 146 other people aboard the plane, as well as eight Kenner residents, including Trahans mother and 4-year-old sister. In a sense, hers is an utterly American stance. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. View a copy of the Court's legal opinion on the availability of the death penalty in this case. More than three decades after a bomb pierced the evening sky over Lockerbie, Scotland, the Syracuse University community carries on a tradition to honor the 35 study-abroad students killed on Pan Am Flight 103. The hijacking of Flight 73 was a botched precursor to 9/11. The men entered the Boeing 747, firing shots into the air. In the past several weeks, the Indian and Indian-American victims of the Pan Am 73 flight have renewed their efforts in both Washington and New Delhi, pushing the two governments to get them the . Gargi Dav (pronounced Dah-VAY) is now a 34-year-old attorney who lives in Sunnyvale. Safarini, mid-joke, caught her and immediately pointed the gun at her head. Suffice it to say there are many shades of gray. Neerja Bhanot (7 September 1963 - 5 September 1986) was an Indian purser who died while saving passengers on Pan Am Flight 73 which had been hijacked by terrorists from a terrorist organization during a stopover in Karachi, Pakistan, on 5 September 1986, just two days before her 23rd birthday.Posthumously, she became and remains the youngest recipient of India's highest peacetime gallantry .