The 16-hour-long hijacking of an at Karachi Airport ended with 22 deaths

"From Silence to Survival: Untold Tales of Pan Am Flight 73's 16-Hour Hijacking Drama"

In the heart-stopping saga of Pan Am Flight 73, the Karachi Airport runway became the stage for a 16-hour-long hijacking that held the world in breathless suspense. What should have been a routine journey to the vibrant streets of New York City turned into a nerve-wracking ordeal on September 5, 1986. Palestinian militants had seized control of the American passenger plane, leaving a chilling trail of 22 fatalities and 150 injured in their wake.

This gripping tale of tragedy and courage, etched into the annals of history, didn't fade into oblivion. Instead, it became a heart-wrenching movie, but the voices of those who had survived remained eerily silent for decades.

Fast forward almost 30 years to 2016, and a remarkable turn of events. The six crew members who had witnessed the horror unfolding before their eyes decided to break their silence, revealing their untold stories to the media. Nupar Abrol, a flight attendant on that fateful day, shared her initial instinct, "My first reaction was to open the emergency door and escape with as many passengers as possible, but then I thought about what would happen to the rest of the passengers."

A week after the hijacking, they summoned the courage to confide in the FBI, and later, in 2005, they faced the main suspect at his parole hearing. Yet, it was in 2016 that the world would hear their harrowing accounts, including the tragic loss of their colleague, Neerja Bhanwat.

Why did they choose to break their silence after all these years? Their motivation was not vengeance, but a profound desire to shed light on the incredible courage and character of everyone on board, whose stories had remained largely untold.

"As we look back," said Nupar Abrol, "this hijacking is not over for us." The surviving passengers and crew members continue to grapple with the lingering emotional aftermath of that dark day, united by their shared experiences.

In the end, their stories may vary, but the indomitable spirit of resilience and strength unites them all—a testament to the enduring human spirit that defied terror and found hope in the face of unspeakable tragedy