The hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73

On the 5 September 1986, hijackers took over a Pan-American Airways flight during a stop-over at Karachi Airport in Pakistan.

The armed Palestinian terrorists wanted to fly the plane to Cyprus and Israel, to free members of their organisation who were jailed there.

But, after the pilots escaped the cockpit, the plane stayed on the ground for 16 hours with almost 400 passengers on board.

When the power on the plane ran out – the hijackers began to shoot indiscriminately. 22 people were killed and more than 150 injured.

Madhvi Bahunga was a Pan-American Airways flight attendant, who was on the plane that day. She speaks to Tim O’Callaghan.

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(Photo: Flight 73 the day after the hijacking at Karachi Airport. Credit: Kraipit Phanvut/AFP via Getty Images)