The Kandahar hijack incident has been buzzing ever since Netflix started streaming a miniseries, “IC 814 The Kandahar Hijack” and viewers spotted inaccuracies in its portrayal of the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814.
Viewers on social media claimed that the miniseries erroneously assigned Hindu names such as “Bhola” and “Shankar”–names associated with Lord Shiva–to the real hijackers Ibrahim Akhtar, Shahid Akhtar Sayeed, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Zahoor Mistry, and Shakir.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had also summoned Netflix’s content head, Monika Shergill, in response to these accusations.
In this context, let us learn what happened to the aircraft after the Kandahar hijack incident that shook India and led to the release of three men arrested in charges of terrorism in exchange for the safe return of hostages.
In 1970s, the three big aviation powers of the world, France, Germany and Britain joined hands to make a large passenger plane named Airbus. While the name sounded confusing in the beginning, and there were doubts about the functioning of the company, Airbus soon became one of the largest companies in the world, with orders coming in from several countries of the world.
Indian Airlines was the first domestic airline that placed an order for three Airbus planes in the beginning. Made in Blagnac, France, the model that was imported was Airbus A300B2. From France, the new Airbus planes were flown to Mumbai, where it was delivered and welcomed with a cannon water salute.
The new Airbus planes had modern features and the best technology in the country. It had two engines. The IC814 was the 36th Airbus aircraft that was delivered to India. It was flown in Mumbai on November 1976 covering a distance of about 5000 kilometers. It was the largest plane India had with the highest passenger capacity. The aircraft measured 176 feet, that is, 53.6 meters.
The IC814 was then registered. It was given the number VT-EPW. Its route– Delhi to Kathmandu- was decided and it started flying regularly. The flight from Delhi to Kathmandu was in the morning and at around 4 pm, it would leave for Delhi from Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu.
It was one of the most luxurious flights of Indian Airlines. More than 250 passengers could fly in it. There were 11-12 crew members along with two pilots. The IC814 had flown more than 10,000 times without any problem throughout a span of 19 years before the hijack took place.
On December 24, 1999, the IC814 took off at 4.00 pm from Kathmandu. The aerial distance between Kathmandu and Delhi was about 820 kilometers covered in one hour 45 minutes or two hours. After being into Indian airspace for just nine minutes when the airhostess staff was serving snacks and tea in the evening, a man stood up and pointed a revolver at the back of steward Anil Sharma.
In no time, five young men stood up with revolvers and grenades and no one was allowed to move. The men were segregated from women and children and people started screaming in fear.
The plane which was hijacked was then rerouted towards Pakistan, instead of Delhi. Since it did not have enough fuel, it landed at Amritsar. When there was delay in Amritsar, the hijackers stabbed two people with knives. One of them succumbed to his injuries inside the plane.
When the tank was filled up, the plane took off and landed at Lahore. Though the hijackers were ready to release some women and children, the Pakistani authorities did not give permission. The plane was refueled at Lahore and then took off for Kabul. Since there was no facility to land at Kabul at night, the plane was again diverted towards Dubai. A total of 27 passengers, which included children and women, were released in exchange for fuel.
The Indian government was trying its best to establish contact with the terrorists. The plane landed at Kandahar airport in the morning and it stood there for a week. It was the longest hijack in the world. The passengers faced problem with food and toilet. Some fell sick and did not have enough medicines with them.
The Kandahar airport was deserted and only the sound of jeeps could be heard. The Indian government then started negotiating with the terrorists.
On December 31, India decided to release three terrorist prisoners in exchange for safe return of all the passengers. The three prisoners were brought to Kandahar to New Delhi before evening. The hijackers took them and left the Kandahar airport in two jeeps.
On the eighth day since the incident, after getting permission to fly, Captain Devi Sharan took off for Delhi and reached the national capital in four hours. The plane landed in Delhi on New Year’s Eve amid heavy security cover.
The IC814 aircraft was parked at the Delhi airport for about a month during which security officials kept inspecting it. After about a month, the aircraft was handed over to Indian Airlines. The IC814 flew for two more years and was taken off the fleet in 2002. It was then taken to Mumbai where it was parked for a long time. The aircraft was finally scrapped in December 2003.
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