A Hero’s Story: Neerja Bhanot
Neerja Bhanot was a flight attendant on Pam Am Flight 73 when on September 5th, 1986 four hijackers took control of the flight. This would be two days before her 24th birthday. The flight was from Mumbai to New York, via Karachi and Frankfurt. When stopped in Karachi, the hijackers took control of the grounded flight. 20 of 380 passengers were killed.
Neerja graduated from university and shortly after married, though the marriage was disastrous as her husband abused her for her dowry. She eventually left him and focused on her life and an individual career, as a model. Pan AM opened applications for Indians to service Asian flights; out of over 10,000 applications, Neerja was one of 80 chosen. She was 22 when she began as a senior flight purser, a large achievement for her age. Here is a photo stream of Neerja, including her modeling career and candid photos.
While the terrorists took control of the passengers, Neerja was able to get a warning to the cockpit and the captains which encouraged their escape, ensuring that the flight would remain grounded (so the plane couldn’t been flown into a building). Neerja remained free while the other flight attendants were tied up, so that she could be utilized to communicate with the airline. From the onset, the hijackers meant business and killed a passenger and threw him off the plane to scare the passengers into submission.
The hijacking became violent and was politically associated. The flight attendants were instructed to collect the passports of all passengers, as the hijackers were looking to kill any Americans on board. The hijackers were a part of the group Abu Nidal Organization, which opposed U.S. and Israeli policy in the Middle East. The flight attendants, including Neerja (who at this point was the “commander” of the plane since the pilots had escaped and she was the highest positioned flight attendant, as a purser), hid the American passports underneath seats without the hijackers noticing and lied when the hijackers questioned why there were no Americans on a flight going to New York. Eventually the power gave out in the plane and when the lights shut off, the terrorists had lost patience and opened fire upon the passengers. Someone(s) (unknown who) opened three emergency doors and once the passengers had gotten out, the flight attendants went back into the dark, gun-smoke-filled plane to make sure no one was left behind. That’s when they found Neerja, shot but conscious. She made it off the plane alive, but succumbed to her injuries.
Neerja received seven awards for her passion, bravery, and courage. All were received posthumously. The first was the Ashok Chakra, Neerja being the youngest ever to receive the award, which is India’s highest award for peacetime bravery. She also received an award from Pakistan for outstanding human kindness. The United States gave her three awards for heroism, justice for crimes, and courage. India later one gave her another award for civilian aviation. The United Kingdom gave her an award for distinguished services to the nation.
There is a fantastic docu-drama on Netflix titled “Neerja” that chronicles that day’s events and Neerja’s life, very beautifully done. Her father wrote a letter a month after she died that chronicled her last day with her family and her courageous acts aboard the plane.
