pan am flight 73 child survivors pan am flight 73 child survivors

Members Only. This is where the fine print matters. 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. But U.S. consulate officers go out to hospitals and airports to help U.S. citizens in distress. Her husband, Sadanand Singh, said she was killed when she threw herself in front of her son and daughter. He spoke to Witness about that terrible disaster. CORNELIUS, MRS. D., Woodland Hill, Calif. HALLDORSON, Raymond, Laguna Hills, Calif. JOHNSTON, Patricia, Newport Beach, Calif. McCULLOUGH, Gertrude, Santa Barbara, Calif. MITCHELL, Walter, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, MITCHELL, Evonne, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. The letters provided information about defendant Safarini's guilty plea and encouraged victims to attend the scheduled sentencing proceeding. Pan Am Flight 73 had just touched down in Karachi after departing from Mumbai, India, and was en route to Germany and then New York when the Palestinian gunmen commandeered it around 6:00 a.m. that fateful September day. 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. '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. She went to save the kids who were stuck inside and got shot from behind. The other four defendants convicted in connection with the hijacking remain in jail in Pakistan. I lay down on my family, my small child and other baby . In the chaos and darkness, at least three doors had been opened, though it is not clear by whom. 25-30 passengers were killed and a large number were injured. She was allowed to lie down. WILLIAMS, Norman; RO Palos Verdes, Calif. BRAGG, Robert, Howard Beach, N. Y., first officer, DONOVAN, Susanne, Harrisburg, Pa., flight attendant, GRUBBS, Victor, Centerport, L.I., captain, JACKSON, Joan, Nashville. In 1986, Pakistani terrorists hijacked a US-bound plane in a drama that left 22 passengers dead. If we run across information about someone else, said the spokeswoman, who did not want to be identified, were not averse to passing it on. The motions hearing will continue on Monday, June 16, 2003. FBI Releases Age-Progressed Photos of Four Most Wanted Terrorists from Pan Am Flight 73 Hijacking, MUHAMMAD ABDULLAH KHALIL HUSSAIN AR-RAHAYYAL, FBI.gov is an official site of the U.S. Department of Justice. She hopes that, in speaking out, "we can all connect through our survival stories and form a fabric of power and strength going forward". ", 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. Contact the Webmaster to submit comments. Massey had already exited down the slide just moments earlier, taking three unaccompanied children with him. 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. 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. I was drenched in her blood. June 16, 2003 - The government filed its reply brief in support of its motion for the court to reconsider its ruling barring the death penalty in this case. Working hard and making money was on my mind until I went through this incident. In a sense, hers is an utterly American stance. 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. Joani and Jack sat in first . A survivor of 1986 Pan Am hijack, Murthy shuddered as the dreadful moment flashed before his eyes. 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 was dark and I was very scared.. Sunshine, Madhvi Bahuguna and another flight attendant began collecting passports, quietly avoiding collecting any that were American. They occasionally worked the same flight and ran into each other at layovers. All have coped in different ways. He stopped me from writing. The motion will be argued on July 21, 2003. One of the hijackers removed a blanket and covered her with it because she was wearing a short skirt. "My mother died while shielding and protecting me. It was one of the deadliest airplane crashes in the history of the U.S. The hijacker didn't seem to know much about the plane so he didn't look for it," says Sunshine. KAREN ANDERSON (Pan Am Flight 1736 Passenger/Survivor): It was a survival mode that kicked in, and it was just, "get out of that airplane." KLAAS MEURS (KLM Flight 4805 Co-Pilot/From Flight Voice . As the shooting began to die down, said George, a flight attendant called out that an emergency exit was open. At the . Even after 30 years, he breaks down at the memory. December 3, 2009 - The FBI announced that it has added the four fugitive hijackers to the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list. Their guns were on silent, so we didnt realise he was killed and thrown out. They climbed back in through the door they had come through, and along with Sherene and another colleague, assisted and redirected passengers to the inflated slide. He had grenades on him. HIRANO, Sachiko, New York, fight attendant. 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. Tenerife killing approx. Flight attendant Sherene Pavan, who was out of sight of the militants, heard the commotion, reached for the intercom and pressed the emergency number to the cockpit. Documents on this page are presented in Portable Document Format (PDF) and a PDF reader is required for viewing. When the firing stopped, I ran to the front and someone pushed me out from the exit. See a copy of the superseding indictment. A 16-hour standoff at Jinnah International Airport in Karchi ended with 22 hostages dead and some 150 injured. It's been over 25 years since the hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73, in Karachi, Pakistan, and a number of survivors are renewing their calls to Congress for compensation from the Foreign Claims . Gargi woke up three days later. Irja Skabo, 38, was one of Pan Am's more experienced stewardesses and she often worked in the first class cabin. Towards the end, they were frustrated because they were looking for pilots and there were none.After a point when it was dark, this leader, I remember him being addressed as Mustafa, said his prayers in a high pitch. The pact the Bush administration signed with the Libyan government, which dismissed all other existing lawsuits, applied only to the American passengers on Flight 73, who were in a distinct minority. Although the hijackers had closed the doors and lowered the shutters earlier, the air conditioning and lights had been on. Mike was made to sit on the floor, and like the other passengers, keep his hands above his head. Under the U.S. federal claims settlement rules, lawyers are only able to retain 10 percent of any settlements. 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 became more courageous and confidant to face any situation in life later.Neerja was an excellent airhostess. Lynn Hartunian, 21, who was a student at SUNY Oswego, was one of the passengers killed on Pan Am Flight 103. She was hit with a bullet in her skull and had injuries on her chest and hands. 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 . As they left the plane, Pratik pointed at his father and cried, Daddy, Daddy!. 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. 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. My mother was trying to save me while Neerja saved other children.I wanted to use the loo. Maul, Hawaii. He also recommended that the Bureau of Prisons assign the defendant to the Administrative Maximum facility in Florence, Colorado, also referred to as "SuperMax. Sunshine remained alert. The attack, which occurred aboard Pan Am Flight 73 during an airport stopover in Karachi, resulted in the deaths of 20 passengers and crew. 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. I knew non-Americans could go to their own governments. She went back to save the kids who were stuck inside and got shot from behind. She informed the pilots about the hijack and thats how the pilots could escape. No one aboard the KLM aircraft survived, and only 71 people escaped from the Pan Am wreckage. Victims were also encouraged to submit a victim impact statement and a form was provided to serve as a guide in composing a victim impact statement. May 30, 2003 - Defendant filed his response to the government's motion for the court to reconsider its ruling barring the death penalty in this case. The report of the Lockerbie Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI), which was held at Dumfries in Scotland from October 1990 to February 1991, explained how Pan Am Flight 103 was sabotaged. emailStay Connected I could have run to the terminus. While on a routine stopover in Pakistan, Pan Am Flight 73 was hijacked by four armed Palestinian terrorists. (Neerja Bhanot's pictures courtesy: Aneesh Bhanot). Four terrorists took position in four corners of the cabin and started shooting and throwing grenades. PAN AM Flight 73 - Another Perspectiveby: Purnima Subhash Hardikar Bloodstain is seen on one of the wings of the Pan Am jetliner on the Karachi Airport, Pakistan on 6 September 1986. February 12, 2003 - Legal arguments were held before Judge Sullivan, with the attorneys for the government and the defense arguing their positions on the defendant's motion seeking to bar the death penalty in this case. Pan Am Flight 816 was an international flight from Auckland, New Zealand, to San Francisco, California, via Tahiti, French Polynesia and Los Angeles.It was operated by a Pan Am Boeing 707-321B bearing the registration N417PA and named Clipper Winged Racer.On July 22, 1973, at 10:06 P.M. local time, the Boeing 707 took off from Faa'a International Airport in Papeete. 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. Anyone can read what you share. 583 people. The Pan Am 73 terrorist attack killed 20 passengers and crew and severely injured more than 100 of the 380 persons on board. We were told to raise our hands and sit. But I opted to carry a young lady, who was severely injured and sadly died in my arms. At the end of the proceeding, Judge Sullivan took the matter under advisement and will issue a written decision at a later date. Though Gargi had to take medication for years because of her head injury, she excelled in college and went on to graduate from the USC School of Law. Not hearing any more gunfire, but not knowing where the gunmen were, they went back into the dark plane to look for survivors. The Court will allow the government to file additional briefs on some of the pending legal motions by April 22, 2003, and the attorneys for the defendant will be permitted to file any responding briefs by April 29, 2003. MUMBAI-Neerja Bhanot died on the night of Sept. 5, 1986, after terrorists killed her for helping passengers escape Pan Am Flight 73 hijacked at Karachi airport, Pakistan. Its always been an active case of ours, saidthe leadFBI agenton the case. Survivors of a 1986 terrorist attack on Pan Am 73 in Pakistan faced a nightmare together. After the terrorists opened fire, I lay down flat fearing I could get killed any moment. Neerja had been shot in her hip and was bleeding heavily, but was conscious. The US was paid 1.5 billion dollars in compensation by Libya. Now eight of them - led by Sunnyvale attorney Gargi Dave, who was 10 years old during the ordeal and is due a $3 million payment -are fighting a New York law firm's efforts to wrest away 90 percent of those settlements. One was naturalized citizen Rajesh Kumar, 29, of Huntington Beach. Somehow I managed to escape from the aircraft. Courageous crew members like Sunshine went back into the plane to look for survivors when the gunfire ceased and found . The Joint Prosecuting Agreement has language that may protect the law firm and cut against the Dav sisters. Forty minutes into the flight, the plane had reached the coast of Scotland. Her sister suffered severe damage to her feet when she leapt from the plane. Sonam Kapoor's Neerja has brought alive memories of the braveheart Neerja Bhanot. He was shot by the hijackers when, according to some other passengers, he objected to their rough treatment of a flight attendant. My father, Kalpesh Dalal, was extremely disturbed. These charges will serve as the basis for the upcoming criminal trial of defendant Safarini. She could have easily escaped first but she chose to push everyone else out. Thirty-two years later, Trahan, now 33, is a wife and mother who has learned to cope with unbelievable loss. Among them was Kankuben Gala, 67, of Tustin, who also was in a wheelchair. "That day, knowingly or unknowingly, we came together as a team and played our parts to the best of our ability," says Massey Casper, another steward. Maybe, it was a sign from God to avoid flying but somehow we managed to take the flight. There were huge streaks of light breaking the darkness. The passenger plane crashed in a residential area of Kenner soon after . Safarini was still on board when Pakistan's security forces entered the plane. 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.. After being rushed to the hospital by two Pakistani men at the airport, Gargi Dav slipped into a coma. Sunshine and Dilip were also on the wing, but in the darkness couldn't gauge the distance of the drop. After 33 years, the tragedy is still haunting. When our flight landed in Karachi, the hijackers entered the aircraft wearing security guard uniforms. September 12, 2002 - Defendant Safarini is arraigned on the superseding indictment and pleads not guilty to each of the counts. Gari Dave is now a Sunnyvale attorney and she is representing a group of other survivors who are fighting to keep millions in restitution paid to the survivors by the Libyan government, who admitted involvement in the hijacking. Shama, another friend, had two bullet injuries in her head.. After the crash, Trahan and her father, who was working when the plane hit, moved away from Kenner to be closer to family. He said images of the suspects obtained by the FBI in the year 2000 were age-progressed by the FBI Laboratory. Neerja swayed the terrorists to allow us to use the washroom telling them that the passengers would cooperate better if they were allowed. The attack on Pan Am Flight 73 resulted in the murder of 20 passengers and crew, including two Americans; the attempted murder of 379 passengers and crew; and the wounding of more than 100 . On Mar. Were hoping that with the age-progression photos next to the original photos maybe that will jar some memories or maybe someone has seen these guys walking around.. See the press release concerning the guilty plea, See a copy of the signed plea agreement concerning the guilty plea, See a copy of the of the facts proffered by the government to which the defendant admitted guilt under oath, January 20, 2004 - Letters were mailed to victims whose addresses are known to the prosecution. The $5 million reward is offered through the State Departments Rewards for Justice Program. October 17, 1990. The Pan Am Flight 73 on its way from Mumbai to New York via Karachi and Frankfurt was . They gave us strength. They were not aggressive as such but panic started after the power supply went off. These sentences are later commuted to life sentences. Then I was pushed gently from an exit and I landed on the tarmac. Following is a list of passengers on the Pan American Boeing 747 airliner who were killed in the Canary Islands crash, as provided Monday to The Associated Press by Pan American officials: BRADLEY, Col. Clittro, San Juan Capisl, Calif. BRADLEY, Marlorie, San Juan Capist, Calif. BRANDCNBERG, Brita, Corona del Mar, Calif. CAZA, Elizabeth, Winosor, Oatario, Canada. Sixteen-month-old Melissa Trahan, on stretcher, is rushed from the scene of the crash of Pan Am Flight 759 in Kenner, La. 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. And their battle offers a fascinating glimpse at the conflicts that erupt between victims and their lawyers. The only two American citizens confirmed killed were Orange County residents. The plane, a Boeing 707, returning from San Juan, Puerto Rico, made a stop in Baltimore to refuel before continuing to Philadelphia to drop off the last of its passengers. 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. She could have easily been the first one to escape but she chose to push everyone else out. Va., flight attendant. Her older sister is a physician with a practice in Southern California. The stench of her blood haunts me even today.". A sentencing date is now set for May 12, 2004. By India Today Web Desk: On this day, exactly 31 years ago, a young flight attendant named Neerja Bhanot boarded Pan Am Flight 73 that would be hijacked on its way to the United States of America. March 10, 2003 - Attorneys for both sides filed briefs in response to the motions and notices filed on February 10, 2003. It was his birthday and he was taking revenge. (Photo: AP) In 2003, Zayd Safrini pleaded guilty to 95 charges which included . He said he was looking for American fighter planes," says Sherene. Age: 50Profession: BusinessmanI was 21 then. "Many have criticised the pilots for leaving the rest of the crew behind, but I was relieved when I saw the pilots were gone, as we were all safer on the ground than we would be in the air. THOMAS, Carol, New York, flight attendant. 19 Jan, 2018, 11.19 PM IST. I hid below the seats so I was saved. The terrorists began screaming in Arabic. The law firms own 25 percent fees also figure in the debate. "The stories may differ but the spirit remains the same.". It was blamed for a string of attacks in the 1970s and 80s, killing and wounding hundreds of people, The Pan Am crew were recognised with courage awards by the airline in 1986, the US Department of Justice in 2005 and the US attorney general in 2006. We were helpless, said Mary George, 37, of Norwalk. They made 300 passengers move to the front of the economy cabin. He held the gun in one hand and with the other he gave me water. The firm's court filings estimate that $330 million is owed to Pan Am 73 survivors. Chandigarh-born Bhanot was the senior flight purser on Pan Am Flight 73 hijacked in Karachi in 1986. Nupoor and Madhvi slipped off the edge of the wing, fracturing bones as they hit the tarmac around 20 feet (6 metres) below. 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. 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. 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. Sunshine called Dilip over to help, and the two carried Neerja to the emergency slide. The survivors of the Pan Am 73 hijacked flight say that 'Neerja' unfairly depicts only one side of the story. Also meeting the plane was Harshad Shah, 40, a Los Angeles bank employee, who had waited through the days of fear and uncertainty to learn what had happened to his wife, Raksha; his 65-year-old mother, Jasumati; his son, Pratik, 3, and his daughter, Jignisha, 13.