Indian Airlines pilot a hero after hijacking

India negotiated a deal to release the hostages in exchange for three Muslim rebels

January 2, 2000
Web posted at: 11:09 p.m. HKT (1509 GMT)

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From staff and wire reports

NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- Indian Airlines Capt. Devi Sharan initially thought the December 24 hijacking of his Airbus A300 passenger jet was a joke when a man wearing a balaclava stepped into the cockpit. But the gun in the hand of the first hijacker the pilot saw told him otherwise.

VIDEO The pilot of the hijacked Indian Airlines jet describes his grim experience to CNN's New Delhi Bureau Chief Satinder Bindra. (January 1) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K   MESSAGE BOARD Indian Airlines hijacking

"He was wearing that monkey cap and I thought that some joker is coming," Sharan said. And then, "I saw this revolver. It was a real revolver."

Indian Airlines Flight IC 814, with Sharan at the controls, left Katmandu, Nepal, that Friday evening on a routine flight to New Delhi. Five hijackers -- Sharan says he never saw all five at one time, however -- ordered the plane first to Pakistan, but was refused permission to land.

Instead, they landed at Amritsar in India, and took off again a short time later, dangerously low on fuel.

"I died many times, I died many times, at least when I took off from Amritsar," Sharan said. "They said, 'We will not die in Indian territory. We will die in Pakistan territory. You will take it to Lahore.'"

Ready to crash

The hijackers told Sharan they didn't care if he crashed the plane, and the pilot resigned himself to a crash landing because the Pakistanis had turned off Lahore airport's lights and Sharan's fuel was going fast.

"I reached Lahore, everything was closed," he said. "Airport runway was closed. I didn't have any choice. I didn't have any fuel to go back to Amritsar. I had only one choice: to crash the plane."

With precious little fuel remaining, Sharan started to crash the plane but saw people below and decided to delay.

"In the meantime, (Pakistani airport officials) came to know we have to crash this airplane," Sharan said. "Then they gave me runway (clearance) ... I had about one and half minutes of fuel left so luckily I landed on the runway."

The hijacked jet left Lahore again after refueling and flew to the United Arab Emirates, where the hijackers released 26 passengers and the body of a passenger killed aboard the flight.

Then the plane flew to Kandahar, Afghanistan, where 155 passengers and crew members were released on Friday after a weeklong standoff.

The hijackers at first demanded the release of 36 Muslim militants jailed in India. India refused to negotiate.

But when the plane landed in Kandahar, Indian officials learned the hijackers had more guns and grenades than earlier thought. Fearing they were prepared to blow up the plane, the officials started to talk.

The conditions on the plane deteriorated dramatically by the fifth day of the hijacking

Bad conditions

By the fifth day of the hijacking, conditions on the plane had deteriorated dramatically. People were sick, toilets had clogged, and the air was foul. One passenger, a diabetic who required medical treatment, was allowed to leave the plane.

Sharan, however, had won the trust of the hijackers. He joked with them frequently and was allowed to walk the aisles to talk with passengers.

"I had many passengers come up to me and they said, 'Let's fight,' he said. "I told them the casualties would be very high. I told them I cannot take the risk of fighting."

The hijackers threatened to kill the passengers one by one when negotiations faltered, but finally a deal was reached.

The captain said he sustained himself during the eight-day ordeal with a vast reserve of patience. By the time India negotiated the deal to release the passengers and crew in exchange for three Muslim rebels, Sharan had only a few hours of sleep over the period.

Now, he says, his New Year's resolution is to rest up and get back to flying again.

New Delhi Bureau Chief Satinder Bindra and Reuters contributed to this report.

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