Indian Airlines Flight 427

Last updated

Indian Airlines Flight 427
Indian Airlines Boeing 737-2A8; VT-EGE, December 1998 BUI (5404996252).jpg
An Indian Airlines Boeing 737-200, similar to the aircraft involved in the hijack
Hijacking
DateApril 24 – 25, 1993
Summary Hijacking
Site Raja Sansi Airport, Amritsar, India
31°42′28″N074°47′57″E / 31.70778°N 74.79917°E / 31.70778; 74.79917
Aircraft
Aircraft type Boeing 737-2A8
Operator Indian Airlines
IATA flight No.IC427
Registration VT-EDS
Flight origin Srinagar Airport, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Destination Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, India
Occupants141
Passengers135 (including the hijacker)
Crew6
Fatalities1 (hijacker)
Injuries0
Survivors140

Indian Airlines Flight 427, a domestic passenger flight of the Indian Airlines between Srinagar Airport and the Delhi-Indira Gandhi International Airport, was involved in an aircraft hijacking that took place in India between 24 and 25 April 1993. Commandos from the National Security Guard (NSG) rescued all 141 hostages of the Indian Airlines Boeing 737, on the ground at Amritsar airport (where it was forced to land after being denied overflight permission by Pakistan to reach Kabul). The lone hijacker, Mohammad Yousuf, was killed within 5 minutes of commandos entering the plane, before he could react and harm any of the hostages. The rescue was code-named Operation Ashwamedh.

Contents

Hijacking

Indian Airlines Flight IC427 departed Delhi at 13:57 for Srinagar with 6 crew members and 135 passengers on board. During the flight, a passenger, who first identified himself as Syed Salauddin, claimed that he was carrying pistols and a hand grenade, and asked the plane to be flown to Kabul. At 14:43, the Delhi Air Traffic Control received a message that the plane had been hijacked and was heading for Kabul in Afghanistan. [1] [2]

The Lahore Air Traffic Control refused to permit the plane to enter the Pakistani airspace, and the flight returned to India after circling over Lahore. [3] Eventually, the plane landed at Amritsar in India at 15:20. The hijacker demanded refueling, and again asked for the plane to be flown to Kabul. The Crisis Management Group (CMG) at the Cabinet Secretariat of India and the Central Committee at Delhi Airport responded to the situation. The Deputy Commissioner and the Senior Superintendent of Police of the Amritsar district were sent to the airport to negotiate with the hijacker. At 18:00, the Director General of Punjab Police arrived in Amrtisar, and took charge of the negotiation process. However, the hijacker remained adamant on his demand, and even fired a warning shot which pierced through the body of the aircraft. [1]

NSG operation

The negotiations with the hijacker were done by Sri.M.R.Sivaraman I A S a member of the CMG a former DGCA and current revenue secretary of India from the Cabinet secretariat. The negotiations continued the whole day long and the hijacker insisted on the aircraft being flown to Pakistan. The negotiator spoke to Pakistan DGCA and they refused entry to the aircraft. The hijacker's request for the aircraft to be flown back to Delhi was also rejected. In the meanwhile, the CMG had moved a crack NSG team from Delhi to Amritsar and positioned it strategically. After the hijacker fired a shot, the negotiator warned the hijacker of dire consequences and asked him to surrender which he refused. The CMG then informed the PM that the aircraft would be stormed. The negotiator then issued the order to the NSG's crack 52 Special Action Group team to storm the aircraft and take down the hijacker. The hijacker was surprised by the sudden entry of the commandos into the plane. Before he could react he was taken down. The operation ended in five minutes, at 01:05, without any casualty or injury to any hostage or further damage to the aircraft. [1] [4] [5]

Aftermath

The hijacker, later identified as Jalaluddin alias Mohammed Yunus Shah, [4] was whisked away for interrogation at the airport. He was later shot dead by NSG. [6] Two loaded 9 mm pistols and a grenade were recovered from him. [1] [7] The Indian authorities claimed the hijacker was a member of Hizbul Mujahideen, but the group denied responsibility. [3]

See also

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Airlines</span> Division of Air India Limited

Indian Airlines was a state-owned airline in India that later became a division of Air India Limited before ultimately ceasing operations. It was based in Delhi and focused primarily on domestic routes, along with several international services to neighbouring countries in Asia and limited flights to the Middle East and Southeast Asia. It was a division of Air India Limited after the merger of eight pre-Independence domestic airlines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Airlines Flight 814</span> 1999 aircraft hijacking

Indian Airlines Flight 814, commonly known as IC 814, was an Indian Airlines Airbus A300 en route from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, to Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, India, on Friday, 24 December 1999, when it was hijacked and was flown to several locations before landing in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1972.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1971.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1977.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1978.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Security Guard</span> Indian counterterrorism force

The National Security Guard (NSG), commonly known as Black Cats, is a counter-terrorism unit of India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It was founded on 16 October 1984, following Operation Blue Star against Sikh militants, to combat terrorist activities and protect states against internal disturbances. Formalised in the Parliament of India under the National Security Guard Act, 1986. NSG are recruited from both India Army and Central Armed Police Forces, it is not strictly classified as a traditional paramilitary force. It operates as a specialized federal contingency unit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Airlines Flight 410</span> 1978 politically-motivated plane hijacking in India

Indian Airlines Flight 410 was a domestic passenger flight from Calcutta to Palam Airport, Delhi, India. On 20 December 1978 the flight was hijacked by Bholanath Pandey and Devendra Pandey shortly before landing at Palam Airport. The hijackers claimed to be members of the Indian Youth Congress, and demanded the release of Indira Gandhi, withdrawal of the charges against her son Sanjay Gandhi, and the resignation of the Janata Party government. The hijackers surrendered shortly after 60 passengers managed to escape.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pakistan International Airlines Flight 544</span> Aircraft hijacking

Pakistan International Airlines Flight 544, a Pakistan International Airlines Fokker F27, was hijacked on 25 May 1998, shortly after it took off from Gwadar International Airport, by three armed men belonging to Baloch Students Organization. The aircraft, with 33 passengers and 5 crew members aboard, had just arrived from Gwadar International Airport, Balochistan, and was set to land in Hyderabad Airport, Sindh. The hijackers demanded that the aircraft be flown to New Delhi, India. The Army's Special Service Group's Haideri Company, 7th Commando Zarrar Battalion, SSG Division, accompanied by members of the Pakistan Rangers, stormed the aircraft, while the Pakistan Police surrounded the plane. The operation concluded with all three hijackers arrested and sentenced to death by Pakistan, with no casualties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Singapore Airlines Flight 117</span> Midair plane hijacking

Singapore Airlines Flight 117 was a Singapore Airlines flight that was hijacked en route by four Pakistani terrorists on 26 March 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CanJet Flight 918</span> 2009 attempted airliner hijacking

CanJet Flight 918 was a flight that was on 19 April 2009 to have taken off from Sangster International Airport (MBJ), Montego Bay, Jamaica, bound for Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ), Halifax, Canada, but was instead seized before takeoff for hours by an armed, lone hijacker. This was likely the fourth hijacking on Jamaican soil, and the second time a Canadian airliner has been hijacked.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1971 Indian Airlines hijacking</span> Aviation incident

On 30 January 1971, an Indian Airlines domestic Fokker F27, also named "Ganga", flying from Srinagar Airport to the Jammu-Satwari Airport, was hijacked by two Kashmiri separatists belonging to the National Liberation Front. The hijackers were Hashim Qureshi and his cousin Ashraf Qureshi. The aircraft was flown to Lahore Airport in Pakistan where the passengers and the crew were released and the aircraft was burnt down.

Jamair was a privately owned airline based in Calcutta, India. It provided both scheduled and non-scheduled charter services.

The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) is an attached office of the Ministry of Civil Aviation (India). It is the regulatory authority for civil aviation security in India. It is headed by an officer of the rank of Director general of Police and is designated as Director General of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security. The Director General, BCAS is the appropriate authority for implementation of Annexure 17(Security: Safeguarding International Civil Aviation Against Acts of Unlawful Interference) to Chicago convention of International Civil Aviation Organization. The Director General, BCAS is responsible for the development, implementation and maintenance of the National Civil Aviation Security Programme.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Airlines Flight 423</span> 1981 aircraft hijacking

Indian Airlines Flight 423 was an Indian Airlines Boeing 737 domestic passenger flight from the Delhi-Palam Airport to the Amritsar-Raja Sansi Airport on 29 September 1981. It was hijacked by five Sikh of the Dal Khalsa and taken to Lahore Airport in Pakistan. The plane had 111 passengers and 6 crew members on board. The Dal Khalsa had been demanding a separate Sikh homeland of Khalistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Airlines Flight 405</span> 1984 aircraft hijacking

On 5 July 1984, nine hijackers forced Indian Airlines Flight 405, an Airbus A300 on a domestic flight from Srinagar Airport to the Delhi-Palam Airport with 254 passengers and 10 crew on board, to be flown to Lahore Airport in Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Airlines Flight 421</span> 1984 terrorist hijacking

On 24 August 1984, seven members of the banned All India Sikh Students Federation hijacked an Indian Airlines jetliner Indian Airlines Flight 421, a Boeing 737-2A8, on a domestic flight from the Delhi-Palam Airport to Srinagar Airport with 74 people on board and demanded to be flown to the United States. The plane travelled to Lahore, then to Karachi and finally to Dubai, where the defence minister of the United Arab Emirates Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum negotiated the release of the passengers and the surrender of all hijackers to UAE authorities.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight IC427 on 24th April 1993". Parliament of India. 26 April 1993. Archived from the original on 20 January 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  2. ↑ "Hijacking description". Aviation Safety Network. 1993. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Indian Commandos Kill Gunman to Thwart Hijacking". Los Angeles Times. 25 April 1993.
  4. 1 2 Limca Book of Records. Bisleri. 1999.
  5. ↑ "National Security Guard". Indian Defence Review. 8 (3). Lancer: 61. 1993. ISBN   9788170621409.
  6. ↑ Pathak, Rahul; Sandhu, Kanwar (15 May 1993). "NSG foils Hizbul Mujahedin terrorist's bid to hijack Boeing 737". India Today. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  7. ↑ "HIJACKER SLAIN AS COMMANDOS STORM PLANE IN INDIA". Washington Post. 25 April 1993. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.