A hijacked plane in 1986. She died saving the lives of people she did not know from terrorists! Worthy of respect...
Neerja Bhanot was born on September 7, 1963 in Chandigarh, India. Her father worked as a journalist.
Apparently, in connection with the nature of his activities, the family moved to Mumbai (then Bombay). Here the girl graduated from high school.
From the age of 16, the future heroine worked as a model, representing many well-known brands. In March 1985, her parents married her. As it happens in India, by agreement. But the husband turned out to be picky: he did not like the dowry, and two months later he returned his wife back.
A failed marriage landed Neerja in the Pan American office. She successfully passed the pre-selection, and she was taken to the position of chief flight attendant.
On that ill-fated day, Bhanot was serving passengers on Flight RA 73. The plane took off from Mumbai and landed in Karachi at 5:00. Four radical Islamists rushed on board and took the passengers and crew hostage.
Neerja immediately distinguished herself with her speed of reaction: she instantly warned the pilots, and they fled through the emergency hatch.
Further, the young girl witnessed a monstrous massacre. The terrorists shot at anyone who called himself an American. They then demanded a passport to check if even one US citizen was still alive. Neerja excelled again: she hid the documents in the garbage chute. Thanks to her bold move, no one else was killed.
When Pakistani police began storming the plane, Bhanot took advantage of the commotion to evacuate all the passengers. She was not embarrassed by bullets flying past and exploding grenades.
As she was about to leave the aircraft, the stewardess turned around for the last time. And I noticed 3 children - they were hiding behind the seats and were afraid to go out.
The girl hurried to pick them up. Unfortunately, the terrorists noticed her and opened fire. The brave Neerja covered the children with her body. She was mortally wounded, but she evacuated those passengers anyway. And then she died...
As you know, one of the rescued boys grew up and became a pilot.
Neerja Bhanot was posthumously awarded the Order of the Ashoka Chakra, India's highest award for bravery. The girl is the youngest of all those who have been awarded it.
A story that left a great sadness in my soul! The whole world should know about Neerja's courage. Share this post with your friends!
In the midst of summer, July 12, the planet celebrates World Civil Aviation Flight Attendant Day.
It is these charming girls who ensure the comfort of air transportation, and in case of danger they are the first to come to the aid of passengers. About the heroic flight attendants who managed not to lose their heads in a difficult situation - in today's review of MN.
Nadezhda Kurchenko: life for passengers
History knows many cases when flight attendants, at the cost of their own lives, saved passengers from inevitable death. In our country, the most famous was the feat of Nadezhda Kurchenko, who in 1970, at the age of 19, entered into a fight with terrorists that cost her her life.
On that ill-fated day, October 15, 1970, an Aeroflot passenger plane with 46 passengers and 5 crew members made a flight from Batumi to Sukhumi. Nothing foreshadowed trouble.
The plane was supposed to be in the air for only about half an hour. However, fate decreed otherwise. As soon as the An-24 took off from the runway, one of the passengers asked Nadezhda Kurchenko to immediately hand over a black envelope to the crew commander.
The girl, sensing danger, went to the cockpit to warn the crew commander about the strange passenger. But the attacker abruptly got up and rushed after the stewardess, taking a revolver from his coat pocket. To her misfortune, Nadezhda turned around and saw that an armed criminal was following her.
The girl instantly slammed the door to the cockpit, having managed to shout that there was an armed man on board. The terrorist came close to the stewardess and categorically demanded to let him in to the pilots. Hope answered with a categorical refusal. A fight ensued.
The pilots, having assessed the situation, tried to help Nadezhda by laying several sharp turns so that the criminal would fall. Unfortunately it didn't work. During the fight, the terrorist shot Nadezhda in the thigh. But even having received a serious wound, the girl continued to resist.
In this situation, two passengers tried to help Nadezhda. But the terrorist's neighbor, who turned out to be his son, jumped up and defiantly opened his cloak, under which he hid a bunch of grenades. The teenager promised that if one of the passengers moved, he would blow up the plane.
At that moment, his father, having lost patience, shot the stewardess in the stomach and burst into the cockpit. The shootout continued. The terrorist ordered the wounded crew members to fly the plane to Turkey. Bleeding, the crew commander Giorgi Chakhrakia miraculously managed to reach the Turkish coast, but the co-pilot Shavidze had to land the car.
The saddest thing is that the Turkish authorities, having arrested the terrorists, who turned out to be 46-year-old Pranas Brazinskas and his 13-year-old son Algirdas, Lithuanians by origin, refused to extradite them to the USSR. In the Soviet Union, the elder Brazinskas was expected to be shot, and in Turkey he received only eight years in prison, his son was sent to prison for two years. After their release, the criminals moved to the United States.
True, in 2002, a just punishment nevertheless overtook the terrorists. During a quarrel, the younger Brazinskas beat his 77-year-old father to death with a bat, for which he received 16 years in prison.
And Nadezhda Kurchenko was posthumously awarded the Order of the Red Banner for her heroism.
Oleg Kosmachev: took out more than twenty people
Talking about the heroism of fragile flight attendants, it would be unfair to ignore the men who work as flight attendants on flights.
As the history of passenger air transportation has shown, male flight attendants are indispensable in emergency landings. During such emergencies, it is necessary to help passengers leave the damaged aircraft in a matter of minutes.
In a critical situation at the Samara airport on March 17, 2007, when the Tu-134 hit the runway during landing, rolled over and fell apart, flight attendant Oleg Kosmachev did not lose his head. During the incident, six people died, 23 were injured, and the plane caught fire.
Oleg squeezed out the emergency hatch and helped the passengers get out. Then, risking his life, the man returned to the burning liner in order to carry out one by one those passengers who could not move independently, including several children.
According to rescuers, more than twenty people should thank Oleg Kosmachev for the saved lives. Moreover, while saving others, the flight attendant did not think about himself at all, although the doctors discovered that he had spinal damage, as well as burns of the respiratory tract. Fortunately, after the treatment, the health of the hero flight attendant was fully restored.
Neerja Bhanot: a bullet for a model
All over the world, the job of a flight attendant is considered one of the most romantic. Sometimes, leaving the fashion podium, elegant girls continue their careers as flight attendants, not even suspecting what dangers they may be exposed to. 
An example is the story of Indian Nirja Bhanot, who changed her job as a professional model to become a flight attendant for Pan American World Airways on the Mubai-New York route.
During one of the flights on September 5, 1986, while landing in Karachi, the plane was hijacked by four Islamists.
361 passengers and 19 crew members were taken hostage. The criminals demanded that the plane immediately take off and head for Cyprus. Further events unfolded like in an action movie.
The flight attendant managed to warn the crew members, who immediately left the plane through the hatch in the cockpit. Upon learning of this, the criminals were furious. They figured out an American among the passengers, dragged him to the entrance hatch and, shooting at point-blank range, threw him onto the runway. Similarly, they promised to do with all US citizens who were on board the aircraft.
Upon hearing this, Neerja Bhanot, 22, ordered the rest of the flight attendants to discreetly collect the Americans' passports and hide them in the plane's garbage chute. After 17 hours of negotiations with the terrorists, the security forces began to storm the plane. In the turmoil of the battle, Neerja Bhanot, at the risk of being killed, opened the escape hatch and managed to get almost all the captured passengers out of the plane.
When the stewardess was about to leave the aircraft herself, she suddenly saw three small children. Despite the danger, the girl returned to the salon and saved the kids.
Unfortunately, the terrorists noticed her. A burst from a machine gun interrupted Nirja's life. But even dying, the stewardess continued to fulfill her professional duty, covering the American boy with her body.
Thanks to the feat of the girl, 359 hostages out of 380 people on board the aircraft were saved. Posthumously, the stewardess was awarded the most prestigious award in India - the Ashoka Chakra Order. 
Sheila Frederick: Against the Slavers
Modern history knows cases when flight attendants assisted people in situations that seemed to be far from their direct duties. A similar story happened in 2011 with Sheila Frederick, who worked as a flight attendant on a flight from Seattle to San Francisco with Alaska Airlines.
The stewardess, as usual, performed her duties, bypassing the passengers and offering them help. Suddenly, the attention of the woman was attracted by an elderly man traveling with a girl of 14-15 years old.
For some unknown reason, he forbade his companion to talk to the stewardess, answer her questions and even look up. The contrast in the clothes of a strange couple stood out sharply. The man was dressed expensively and solidly, while the girl looked disheveled and untidy.
Seizing the moment when the girl's companion was distracted, Sheila leaned over to her and offered to go to the restroom, where a note was left for her. If the girl needed outside help, she had to write an answer.
The stewardess was not mistaken: a young passenger told her that she had been kidnapped by traffickers. At the airport, the slave trader was arrested by the police, and the girl was sent to college.
Dmitry Sokolov.
FOTOLIA,
TASS/I. Chokhonelidze,
INDIATIMES.COM
Very often, the work of a flight attendant is too romanticized: distant countries, meeting people, good mood, perfect uniform. But not everyone will think that this profession is also dangerous. And it's not that you have to fly above the clouds. Most often, the danger comes from passengers.
About the heroic flight attendants who managed not to lose their heads in a difficult situation and fulfill their duty to the end, even at the cost of their own lives, - further in the review.
Nirya Bganot
Nirya (Nirja) Bganot is an Indian flight attendant who rescued 360 passengers.
23-year-old Indian flight attendant Nirya (Nirja) Bganot sacrificed her life saving 360 passengers. It happened in the Pakistani city of Karachi. The plane PAN AM 73 was captured by radical Islamists. The stewardess was not taken aback and managed to immediately warn the pilots. They evacuated through an escape hatch so that the plane could not be lifted into the air.
Niria herself remained in the cabin. The terrorists demanded to bring the passports of all passengers in order to execute the Americans. The brave flight attendant hid the documents of people who had US citizenship in the garbage chute and under the seats. Because of this, they survived.
When the Pakistani police began to storm, and the terrorists began to shoot back, Niria managed to evacuate passengers from the plane on her own. She already wanted to get out herself, but at the last moment she saw three more children in the cabin, hiding under the seats. While the stewardess was taking the children out, the Islamists noticed them and started shooting. The girl covered the kids with herself and was mortally wounded. With the last of her strength, she took the children out of the plane, and then died.
Nadezhda Kurchenko
Nadezhda Kurchenko is a Soviet flight attendant who died in a fight with terrorists.
On October 15, 1970, 19-year-old stewardess Nadezhda Kurchenko paid with her life in an attempt to prevent terrorists from hijacking the plane. The An-24 aircraft carrying Nadezhda was on a Batumi-Sukhumi flight. The entire flight was supposed to take only half an hour. At the 5th minute after takeoff, one of the passengers called the stewardess to him, put an envelope in her hand and demanded to take it to the commander. Either Nadia looked at him with hostility, or the man did not have enough restraint, but after a couple of seconds he rushed after her. The girl realized that something was wrong, and immediately slammed the door of the pilots' cabin, blocking the way.
The terrorist did not expect such a rebuff and tried to push the young conductor away, but she began to desperately resist. At the same time, the commander realized that there was a fight behind the door, and began to sharply turn the plane to the left, right, up, hoping to knock the criminal down (the passengers were still wearing their seat belts). The terrorist resisted and shot Nadezhda in the thigh, but the fragile girl continued to resist. Then he fired point-blank.
A telegram of condolences addressed to the mother of Nadezhda Kurchenko, Henrietta Ivanovna.
Victoria Zilberstein
Victoria Zilberstein is a flight attendant who rescued passengers during a plane crash.
Victoria Zilberstein, like many girls, dreamed of working as a flight attendant. She was attracted by distant countries, beautiful uniforms. Her wish came true. At the time of the disaster, the girl had been working as a flight attendant for two years. That day, Victoria was on a plane bound for Irkutsk. Before landing, everything happened as usual, the standard phrases sounded: “Dear passengers, please fasten your seat belts and take an upright position.”
When taxiing began (maneuvering an airliner moving along the airfield due to engine thrust), Victoria noticed that the plane did not stop for a long time. Suddenly she felt a push, the lights went out in the cabin and smoke appeared. At that moment, the stewardess flashed only one thought: you need to save passengers. Victoria immediately remembered the words of the instructor: “Girls, in case of an accident, the main thing is to make a hole in the plane.” The stewardess pulled the emergency exit lever and opened the hatch. People climbed out, sliding down the tilted wing, Victoria let them go ahead, choking on the acrid smoke. Then she went out on her own.
The stewardess was in shock. Only later, in the hospital, Victoria was told that she had a concussion, the plane exploded, and only thanks to the flight attendant, most of the passengers managed to escape.
Sheila Frederick
Sheila Frederick, who managed to save a girl from sexual slavery.
That flight began as usual: passengers took their seats, and the flight attendants performed their duties. But one couple caught Sheila's attention again and again. It seemed that the man was flying with his daughter, only he looked very decent, and the girl's clothes looked like rags. And that fearful look, too.
Sheila invited the girl to take her to the toilet. There she left a note asking if the passenger needed help. She answered in the affirmative. When the plane came in for landing, the police were already waiting at the gangway. It turned out that the girl was indeed taken against her will to be sent into sexual slavery.
Mor Levy and Nitzan Rabinovich
Flight attendants can come to the rescue even when they are on the ground and not in the air. Israeli flight attendants Nitzan Rabinovich and Mor Levy saved an 80-year-old man from death. On that day, the girls were at the Beijing airport. They were already heading to their plane, when suddenly Nitzan noticed that she had lost her phone. She asked her friend to go back to the subway station and look for him.
When the flight attendants returned to the station, they saw a woman screaming over an unconscious man. Nitzan and Mor tried to feel for a pulse, but there was none. Immediately, the flight attendants began to give artificial respiration to the lying person, as they were taught in first aid courses. More ordered people to run to the airport and fetch a defibrillator while she called an ambulance. The girls arrived on time. They started the heart of the Chinese, and by the time the doctors arrived, the man even opened his eyes.
The flight attendants took 30 minutes to rescue the Chinese man. They rushed to their flight at a run, managed to do it and, as if nothing had happened, smiled and seated the passengers in their seats. Only after takeoff did the girls allow themselves to cry. By the way, the phone was also found.
more than 150 people
Clipper Empress of the Seas
Airplane
The Boeing 747-121 with serial number 20351 and serial number 127 was released in 1971 and made its first flight on May 21. Its four turbofan engines were Pratt & Whitney JT9D-3A models. On June 18, the aircraft entered the American airline Pan American World Airways, where it received the registration number N656PA and the name Clipper Live Yankees, later renamed to Clipper Empress of the Seas
Crew and passengers
| Nationality | Passengers | Crew | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Algiers Algeria | 3 | - | 3 |
| Belgium Belgium | 2 | - | 2 |
| UK UK | 15 | 4 | 19 |
| Denmark Denmark | 8 | - | 8 |
| Germany Germany | 81 | 3 | 84 |
| India | 91 | 8 | 99 |
| Ireland | 5 | - | 5 |
| Italy Italy | 50 | 2 | 52 |
| Canada Canada | 30 | - | 30 |
| Mexico Mexico | 8 | - | 8 |
| Pakistan Pakistan | 44 | - | 44 |
| USA USA | 18 | 1 | 19 |
| France France | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Sweden Sweden | 2 | - | 2 |
| Total | 361 | 19 | 380 |
Chronology of events
terrorists
The hijackers were arrested in Pakistan, convicted and sentenced to death in 1988, which was later commuted to life imprisonment.
However, one of them, Zaid Hassan Abd Al-Latif Masud Al Safarini ( Zayd Hassan Abd Al-Latif Masud Al Safarini), who shot at the passengers of the plane, was released from a Pakistani prison in 2001 - but was soon captured by FBI agents in Bangkok and taken to the United States, where he was sentenced to 160 years in prison in Colorado. The remaining four terrorists were released from the central prison (English)Russian the city of Rawalpindi in January 2008; the FBI offered a $5 million reward for their heads.
According to Pakistani intelligence officials, in January 2010, one of the freed hijackers, Jamal Saeed Abdul Rahim, was killed in a drone attack in the tribal region of North Waziristan. Jamal Saeed Abdul Rahim). But his death has not been confirmed, and he remains on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorist List.
Cultural aspects
Flight 73 hijacking is mentioned in Maxim Shakhov's story Russian colonel.
Neerja's film depicts the heroic fate of a young flight attendant, Neerja Bhanot.
see also
Write a review on the article "Boeing 747 hijacking in Karachi"
Notes
Links
- on YouTube - board N656PA 2 years before the hijacking
Excerpt describing the Karachi Boeing 747 hijacking
– Voila un veritable ami! said Helen, beaming, once more touching Bilibip's sleeve with her hand. - Mais c "est que j" aime l "un et l" autre, je ne voudrais pas leur faire de chagrin. Je donnerais ma vie pour leur bonheur a tous deux, [Here is a true friend! But I love both and would not want to upset anyone. For the happiness of both, I would be ready to sacrifice my life.] - she said.Bilibin shrugged his shoulders, expressing that even he could no longer help such grief.
"Une maitresse femme! Voila ce qui s "appelle poser carrement la question. Elle voudrait epouser tous les trois a la fois", ["Well done woman! That's what is called firmly posing the question. She would like to be the wife of all three at the same time. "] thought Bilibin.
“But tell me, how does your husband look at this matter?” he said, owing to the firmness of his reputation, not afraid to drop himself with such a naive question. Will he agree?
- Ah! Il m "aime tant!" - said Helen, who for some reason thought that Pierre also loved her. - Il fera tout pour moi. [Ah! he loves me so much! He is ready for anything for me.]
Bilibin picked up the skin to indicate the forthcoming mot.
– Meme le divorce, [Even for a divorce.] – he said.
Ellen laughed.
Among the people who allowed themselves to doubt the legality of the proposed marriage was Helen's mother, Princess Kuragina. She was constantly tormented by envy of her daughter, and now, when the object of envy was the closest to the heart of the princess, she could not come to terms with this thought. She consulted with a Russian priest about the extent to which divorce and marriage were possible with a living husband, and the priest told her that this was impossible, and, to her joy, pointed out to her the Gospel text, which (it seemed to the priest) directly rejected the possibility of marriage from a living husband.
Armed with these arguments, which seemed to her irrefutable, the princess early in the morning, in order to find her alone, went to her daughter.
After listening to her mother's objections, Helen smiled meekly and mockingly.
“But it’s directly said: who marries a divorced wife ...” said the old princess.
Ah, maman, ne dites pas de betises. Vous ne comprenez rien. Dans ma position j "ai des devoirs, [Ah, mama, don't talk nonsense. You don't understand anything. There are responsibilities in my position.] - Helen spoke, translating the conversation into French from Russian, in which she always seemed to have some kind of ambiguity in her business.
But my friend...
– Ah, maman, comment est ce que vous ne comprenez pas que le Saint Pere, qui a le droit de donner des dispenses…
At this time, the lady companion, who lived with Helen, came in to report to her that his highness was in the hall and wanted to see her.
- Non, dites lui que je ne veux pas le voir, que je suis furieuse contre lui, parce qu "il m" a manque parole. [No, tell him that I don't want to see him, that I'm furious against him because he didn't keep his word to me.]
- Comtesse a tout peche misericorde, [Countess, mercy to every sin.] - said, entering, a young blond man with a long face and nose.
The old princess rose respectfully and sat down. The young man who entered ignored her. The princess nodded her daughter's head and swam to the door.
“No, she is right,” thought the old princess, all of whose convictions were destroyed before the appearance of his highness. - She's right; but how is it that in our irretrievable youth we did not know this? And it was so simple, ”the old princess thought, getting into the carriage.
In early August, Helen's case was completely decided, and she wrote a letter to her husband (who she thought was very fond of her) in which she informed him of her intention to marry NN and that she had entered into the one true religion and that she asks him to complete all the formalities necessary for the divorce, which the bearer of this letter will convey to him.
“Sur ce je prie Dieu, mon ami, de vous avoir sous sa sainte et puissante garde. Votre amie Helene.
[“Then I pray to God that you, my friend, be under his holy strong cover. Your friend Elena"]
This letter was brought to Pierre's house while he was on the Borodino field.
The second time, already at the end of the battle of Borodino, having escaped from the Raevsky battery, Pierre with crowds of soldiers headed along the ravine to Knyazkov, reached the dressing station and, seeing blood and hearing screams and groans, hastily moved on, getting mixed up in the crowds of soldiers.
One thing that Pierre now wanted with all the strength of his soul was to get out of those terrible impressions in which he lived that day as soon as possible, return to the usual conditions of life and fall asleep peacefully in the room on his bed. Only under ordinary conditions of life did he feel that he would be able to understand himself and all that he had seen and experienced. But these ordinary conditions of life were nowhere to be found.
Although the balls and bullets did not whistle here along the road along which he walked, but from all sides it was the same as it was there, on the battlefield. There were the same suffering, tormented and sometimes strangely indifferent faces, the same blood, the same soldier's greatcoats, the same sounds of shooting, although distant, but still terrifying; in addition, there was stuffiness and dust.
After walking about three versts along the high Mozhaisk road, Pierre sat down on its edge.
Twilight descended on the earth, and the rumble of the guns subsided. Pierre, leaning on his arm, lay down and lay for such a long time, looking at the shadows moving past him in the darkness. Incessantly it seemed to him that with a terrible whistle a cannonball flew at him; he winced and got up. He did not remember how long he had been here. In the middle of the night, three soldiers, dragging branches, placed themselves beside him and began to make fire.
The soldiers, glancing sideways at Pierre, lit a fire, put a bowler hat on it, crumbled breadcrumbs into it and put lard. The pleasant smell of edible and greasy food merged with the smell of smoke. Pierre got up and sighed. The soldiers (there were three of them) ate, not paying attention to Pierre, and talked among themselves.
