The Netflix series about Indian Airlines Flight 814 (IC 814), IC 814: The Kandahar HijackTakes viewers behind the scenes of a horrific seven-day stand-off, putting them at the center of a global crisis. The political stakes increased dramatically as travelers were held captive in Kandahar, revealing the tenuous relationship between fear, power and human endurance. The restrictive atmosphere of the show forces viewers to acknowledge the enormity of the hijackers, which creates comparisons with other horrific episodes in flight history where survival and negotiations are tested to the extreme.
Reflecting on the true history of IC 814, it is impossible not to recall other long-lasting hedges – each with its own drama with high stakes, complicated exchanges and unforgettable consequences. These events, although often overshadowed by more immediate tragedies, reveal the psychological warfare hijackers and the deep geopolitical impact they left behind. Here’s a look at some of the longest and most nerve-wracking hijinks in history, where every second felt like a lifetime.
Pan Am Flight 73
Year: 1986 – Duration: 17 hours
Pan Am Flight 73, a Boeing 747 operating from Mumbai to New York, was intercepted at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi on 5 September 1986 by Four armed men associated with the Abu Niḍāl organization. The flight crew bravely escaped when the hijackers boarded the aircraft, taking 379 passengers and crew members hostage.
Flight attendants fictitiously hid the identity of other Americans to protect them from the hijackers, who asked to be flown to Cyprus and kill an American passenger to fulfill their demands. The scene worsened after a tense 16-hour standoff when the plane’s power supply ran out and it became pitch black inside.
Related
The hijackers opened fire on the prisoners, believing it to be an attack. 21 people were killed and several others were injured. Some passengers were able to get away from the mayhem with the help of flight attendants. After the attack, Neerja Bhanot, a senior flight attendant, was posthumously awarded India’s Ashoka Chakra for her bravery. Her life story was subsequently adapted into the movie Neerja.
TWA Flight 85
Year: 1969 – Duration: 19 hours
described as “The world’s longest and most spectacular hijacking” (Per BBC), TWA Flight 85 is still infamous in aviation circles. During the last leg of the plane’s journey across the United States in October 1969, 19-year-old Raffaele Minichiello took the plane’s 40 or so passengers hostage About 15 minutes after the plane took off from Los Angeles en route to San Francisco.
Armed with an M1 rifle, Minichiello demanded that the captain fly the plane to New York instead, sparking a dramatic stand-off that transformed aviation. Initially, the plane circled to Denver to get enough fuel to get to the East Coast. Several hostages were released here, including members of the gang Harper’s Bazaar.
About four hours later, the plane arrived in New York with only the hijacker and five key crew members remaining on board. After an FBI attempt to get on board was backfired, the plane then departed for Ireland before flying to Rome. Minichiello evaded capture in the Italian countryside for several days, before eventually taking in. While His motives were unclearHe has since been diagnosed as suffering from PTSD after a tour in Vietnam in 1967.
JAL Flight 351
Year: 1970 – Duration: One day
A regular trip from Tokyo to Fukuoka, Japan Airlines trip 351 was suddenly canceled Hijacked on March 31, 1970 by members of the Red Army factionA powerful faction of the Communist League. Under the leadership of Takamaro Tamiya, the gang kidnapped 129 passengers and crew members and demanded that the jet be redirected from its intended destination of Cuba to North Korea using homemade bombs and katana swords.
They wanted to start a bloody revolution in Japan, because they thought that this would lead to a world revolt against America and its allies.
They wanted to start a bloody revolution in Japan Because they thought it would lead to a worldwide revolt against the United States and its allies. When the enemy increased, Japanese officials prepared a clever scheme to drive the hijackers, which finally caused them to enter Mirim Airport in Pyongyang.
After the event, certain hijackers—like Takaya Shiomi, who organized the operation in the first place—received long prison terms, while others were allowed to roam freely in North Korea. The Yodogo hijacking incident, a strange incident that brought attention to the radical goals of the Red Army faction, also sparked debate about ideology, loyalty, and the extent people would go to in the name of revolution.
Scandinavian Airlines Flight 130
Year: 1986 – Duration: Two days
Two armed men acting as security agents Took control of Scandinavian Airlines Flight 130, a domestic flight from Gothenburg to Stockholm, on September 5, 1986, shortly after departure. The hijackers forced the pilots to reroute the aircraft to Bultofta airport in Malmö, where they threatened to detonate a bomb if their demands, including the release of Croatian prisoners, were not fulfilled within eight hours.
Passengers initially believed it was a simulation and were shocked by the situation, but when the tension rose, the hijackers became more and more frantic. Throughout the night, negotiations began between the hijackers and the Swedish authorities. finally, The police were able to transport the arrested to the airport in order to deal with them.
After several convoluted negotiations and negotiations, the plane was finally forced to take off from Madrid in Sweden. The hijackers realized that they could not take off again and surrendered to the Spanish authorities there. The passengers and crew were safely rescued at the end of the 18-hour ordealAlthough some of the hijacking solution is missing.
Colombian Airline HK-1274
Year: 1973 – Duration: 60 hours
Two men took control of Sam Colombia’s Lockheed L-188A Electra on May 30, 1973, while it was flying flight HK-1274 from Cali to Bogota. They demanded money and the release of left-wing prisoners. The jet was redirected to Medellin for refueling shortly after takeoff from Pereira, and then headed to Aruba. The hijackers received 50,000 dollars from the airline after a series of difficult retreats and technical difficulties, and 31 people were released during the stressful negotiations.
The fiction Miniseries The hijacking of Flight 601Conceived by CS Prince and Pablo González, was inspired by these dramatic events. The series highlights the immense emotional stakes and moral quandaries that everyone on board must deal with during this high-stakes crisis by examining the viewpoints of two young, desperate hijackers, flight attendants, pilots and an airline official.
Lufthansa Flight 181
Year: 1977 – Duration: Five days
On October 13, 1977, four militants from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine hijacked Lufthansa Flight 181, a Boeing 737 named “Landshut”, when it was flying from Palma de Mallorca to Frankfurt. The hijackers wanted to put pressure on the West German government To free two Palestinians who were detained in Turkey and eleven leaders of the Red Army faction who were captured. They had a rigorous five-day trip with several detours before arriving in Mogadishu, Somalia.
When West Germany’s top counterterrorism unit, GSG 9, undertook a daring rescue operation with the help of Somali forces in the early hours of October 18, the situation came to an end. Tragically, during the confrontation, the hijackers had already killed the captain of the flight, leaving all 87 passengers and four crew members alive.
IC 814
Year: 1999 – Duration: Seven days
On December 24, 1999, five armed men took over Indian Airlines flight IC 814, which was carrying over 175 passengers, when it was traveling from Kathmandu to Delhi. The hijackers wanted the release of terrorists imprisoned in India; They later became known as members of the militant group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen. The aircraft touched down in Taliban-controlled Kandahar, Afghanistan, after several stops in Amritsar, Lahore and Dubai.
The Indian administration has been challenging negotiations for seven tense days. In the last stages, the hostages were returned safely in exchange for the release of three militants. The Netflix show carefully integrates dramatic narrative with first-hand recollection to accurately represent the terrifying events.
The drama incorporates official records and victim testimonyWhich not only stresses the broader geopolitical repercussions but also the psychological impact of the experience. Three militants who had been in prison were eventually released, raising concerns about the fine line that must be drawn between negotiation and terrorism in one of India’s most notorious hijras.
TWA Flight 847
Year: 1985 – Duration: 17 days
Hezbollah Terrorists took control of TWA Flight 847 in 1985 While it was traveling from Athens to Rome, making it one of the scariest hijackings in aviation history. Armed with guns and grenades, the hijackers took control of the plane and drove to Beirut, Lebanon, where they began attacking American Navy officers and passengers with names that sounded Jewish.
Related
Unfortunately, Robert Statham, a Navy diver, died in the process. The majority of the hostages were released after the 17-day kidnappingHowever, five people – among them the American Richard Herzberg – were detained until they were released without incident. Amidst the hijackers’ demands for political concessions, this horrific incident has become a global issue.
Although the hostages were safely released, the terrorists initially escaped capture. But two years later, Mohammed Ali Hammadi, one of the main hijackers, was arrested in Germany, which brought some justice to the victims. The hijacking of TWA Flight 847 is nonetheless a chilling reminder of the period’s terror techniques and their far-reaching effects.
El Al Fly 426
Year: 1968 – Duration: 40 days
Members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) hijacked El Al Flight 426 on July 22, 1968, taking the plane to Algeria. The hijackers demanded the release of over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners When there were 38 passengers and 10 staff members on board. 12 Israeli men were held captive for 39 days, while the majority of non-Israeli passengers were immediately released.
Under world pressure, including a boycott by the Global Aviation Federation, Israel released 16 Palestinian prisoners, and ensured the safe return of the hostages. This incident served as the catalyst for the emergence of modern air piracy and international aviation terrorism of the sort seen in IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack.
It was a major turning point for safety in aviation and international relations, although no lives were lost.
It was A major turning point for safety in aviation and international relations, although no lives were lost. The hijacking additionally demonstrated the increasing use of aviation as a political arena, leading to adjustments in the ways governments and airlines handled cases like this.
Source: BBC