Each is sentenced to death. Gargi Dav argues that they could file in foreign courts. For her part, Gargi firmly rejects the notion that she is trying to put herself ahead of any other victim. A total of 112 survivors of Flight 73 had arrived in the United States late Sunday, landing at New Yorks Kennedy International Airport, where they were met by relatives, friends, reporters and photographers. We landed on the wing. We sat in that position for almost three hours.After a point we couldnt help but plead them to let us use the washrooms. The terrorists, members of the Abu Nidal organization, had planned to crash the plane into a sensitive Israeli target in Tel Aviv. 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. December 3, 2009 - The FBI announced that it has added the four fugitive hijackers to the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list. 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. 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 . At the . 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. When armed terrorists stormed the plane on the tarmac in Karachi, Pakistan, early on Sept. 5, 1986, Dav was 10 years old, flying with her 13-year-old sister from India to the United States. 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. It was an American aircraft and Americans were their target. Neerja's colleagues say she was still alive when she arrived at Karachi's Jinnah Hospital. April 11, 2003 - A status hearing was held before Judge Sullivan. She was hit with a bullet in her skull and had injuries on her chest and hands. Her actions led to 359 of the 380 people on-board the plane managing to live through the ordeal. One hundred seventy-six passengers, estates, and family members who were victims of the September 5, 1986 terrorist hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 in Karachi, Pakistan filed suit today against Libya and the individuals convicted of launching the attack. Meanwhile, inside the plane, 29-year-old American passenger Rajesh Kumar was pulled out of his seat and made to kneel in front of one of the open doors, with a gun to his head. 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. Neerja was standing right next to the exit. One of the four hijackers, Mrs. George recalled, said Americans killed his wife and whole family. Outside, four gunmen had sped on to the tarmac in a van disguised as airport security. 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. I realised I had survived. Chandigarh-born Bhanot was the senior flight purser on Pan Am Flight 73 hijacked in Karachi in 1986. Had the terrorists got all the US passports initially, the picture could have been different and even more drastic.One baby was crying continuously. I noticed that the evacuation hatch on the ceiling of the cockpit was open, but I pretended not to. Although the hijackers had closed the doors and lowered the shutters earlier, the air conditioning and lights had been on. (In group shot - far left): Massey. Thirty-five students studying abroad with Syracuse University were struck down from the sky on Pan Am Flight 103 on December 21, 1988, along with 224 other passengers and eleven Lockerbie residents, victims of a terrorist bombing. The two girls narrowly escaped a deadly fusillade. Sherene saw that mechanic Meherjee had been killed. But, Pan Am Flight 214 . The motions hearing will go forward on May 5, 2003. On December 21, Pan Am 103 was beginning the second leg of its Frankfurt-London-New York-Detroit route. They turned and ran back through the plane--and some gunfire--to the other wing, where they were able to slide to safety. As soon as his prayer was over, they started firing indiscriminately. Massey had already exited down the slide just moments earlier, taking three unaccompanied children with him. 2023 BBC. We were pushed to another compartment of the aircraft. "My mother died while shielding and protecting me. Some survivors of the ill-fated PanAm flight 73 recount the sordid memories of that September day in 1986 when . September 5, 1986 - Hijacking of Pan Am flight #73 in Karachi, Pakistan. Forty minutes into the flight, the plane had reached the coast of Scotland. Calling the fight sad and disheartening, Newberger said the sharing clause was originally put in the agreement to stop infighting among the 178 plaintiffs. . At the end of the proceeding, Judge Sullivan took the matter under advisement and will issue a written decision at a later date. December 30, 2002 - Attorneys for defendant Safarini file a reply brief in support of their motion seeking to bar the death penalty against the defendant. Maul, Hawaii. More information will be provided to victims concerning submitting a victim impact. The next status hearing in the case is now scheduled for Monday May 19, 2003, at 2:00 p.m. 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 fundamental issue is whether the sisters are showing great courage in standing up to a big law firm for what should be theirs or whether they are, in essence, greedy. 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. They threw the hand grenades too, one of which fell on my friend Rupal (18), sitting next to me. Thirty-two years later, Trahan, now 33, is a wife and mother who has . 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. He also recommended that the Bureau of Prisons assign the defendant to the Administrative Maximum facility in Florence, Colorado, also referred to as "SuperMax. 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. Students who switched tickets escaped the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing. Also known as Fatah-The Revolutionary Council, it is listed as a terrorist group by the United States, Israel and the European Union. Ill get to the details in a second. Thats when the aggressive terrorist came up to us with his gun, warning us not to talk. It remains the worlds deadliest air disaster. Our responsibility is to assist U.S. citizens.. Eventually the militants threatened that, as a pilot had not materialised, a passenger would be shot every 15 minutes. The university's annual Remembrance Week, which runs October 20-26, features a candlelight vigil . At one point she looked longingly at the emergency axe in a glass box in the cockpit. Galas son, Bharat, 32, an Orange County motel owner, met her Monday and interpreted for her. Unable to fly the plane, the terrorists started by executing an American and dumping his body out the door of the plane. She had been shot in the lower left leg as she rushed to an emergency exit and her back and neck were injured when she jumped down to the tarmac. I was told to go alone and on my way back, I came across a water dispenser. 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. Trahan, dubbed the "Miracle Baby of Pan Am Flight 759," was the sole survivor of the crash, sustaining no serious injuries. Other terrified passengers had jumped down on top of her at Karachi, she explained. One of the terrorists picked up the baby and started strutting up and down with a machine gun in his hand and a rifle hanging from his shoulder. Sign up for our newsletter and other special offers: Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall Turns 75! [17], One of the four, Jamal Saeed Abdul Rahim, was allegedly killed in a dr January 2008 - Pakistan reportedly released from jail the remaining four hijackers who had been convicted in 1988. They didn't discuss the hijack. She persuaded them to let the children drink water too. The FAI report concluded that Pan Am 103's 16 crew and 243 named passengers, including Bernt Wilmar Carlsson (born on 21 November 1938 and residing at Apartment 30, 207 West 106th Street, New York, New York 10025 . The passenger plane crashed in a residential area of Kenner soon after . Nupoor and Madhvi slipped off the edge of the wing, fracturing bones as they hit the tarmac around 20 feet (6 metres) below. Judge Sullivan also recommended that the defendant never receive parole. 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. Following is a partial list of the casualties on Pan Am Flight 73, which was hijacked Friday in Karachi, Pakistan, as made public yesterday by Pan American World Airways. A 16-hour standoff at Jinnah International Airport in Karchi ended with 22 hostages dead and some 150 injured. 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. 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. Please use portrait mode for best experience. But win or lose, what strikes me is how a 10-year-old victim has grown up to be an intelligent and passionate young lawyer willing to take on a big international law firm that has threatened her with legal reprisals. We were aware they took hold of Rajesh, a US national. Around four hours into the siege, the hijackers began trying to identify the Americans on board. All 259 people on board were killed, and 11 individuals on the ground also died. Trahan, dubbed the Miracle Baby of Pan Am Flight 759, was the sole survivor of the crash, sustaining no serious injuries. Doctors did not think shed recover. Pan Am flight 73 hijacking, takeover of a Pan American World Airways jet on September 5, 1986, by hijackers linked to the Ab Nil Organization. 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. On that night, Dec. 8, 1963, Flight 214, a Pan American Airways Boeing 707, was returning to the U.S. from from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Remembering Neerja Bhanot on hijacked Pan Am Flight 73. Philadelphia, flight attendant, SARP, Aytel, Arlington. No matter how much time has passed or the obstacles we encounter,the case agent said, we owe it to the victims and their families to never give up on them.. This is where the fine print matters. A lock () or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Her sister suffered severe damage to her feet when she leapt from the plane. Her spirit lives inside of me, and so does my sisters, she said of her mom in an interview with local station WWLTV marking the 20th anniversary of the crash.