Amid gloomy news about the Air France and IAF plane crashes, we bring you a true life adventure with a happy ending. Capt U C Saxena recalls the time when, left at the mercy of 44 mercenaries, he steered all passengers on board a Boeing to safety
Amid gloomy news about the Air France and IAF plane crashes, we bring you a true life adventure with a happy ending. Capt U C Saxena recalls the time when, left at the mercy of 44 mercenaries, he steered all passengers on board a Boeing to safety
For Capt U C Saxena, the Air France and Indian Air Force plane crashes have brought back memories of the time he was piloting a hijacked plane.
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A tale to tell: Captain U C Saxena |
Saxena steered an Air India Boeing 707 to Durban at the behest of hijackers from Seychelles on November 25, 1981. The hijackers who had arrived from Swaziland tried to stage an unsuccessful coup to oust the then Seychelles president, Albert Rene.u00a0
In this exclusive interview, Saxena, who now lives in Mumbai, tells MiD DAY he's glad he has lived to tell the tale.
In his words:
I could not figure out how the air traffic control at Seychelles could have let us land on a runway when a vehicle had blocked it. Confused and apprehensive, I came out of the cockpit and saw a stepladder and two men walking up instead of the usual Air India staff.
They were wearing only shorts and sneakers. They had sten guns, probably AK-47s, slung across their shoulders. I thought they were airport security personnel, probably dressed informally due to the weather.
Little did I know there were 44 hijackers waiting to board my plane so that they could be transported out of Seychelles. The air traffic control of Seychelles had placed a truck to avoid our landing but I had failed to realise this since it was dark. To make matters worse, our plane was damaged. The mercenaries demanded that I fly it.
Presence of mind
I kept my cool. Although several negative thoughts crossed my mind, I gathered courage and decided it was time my rigorous training was put to good use.
The mercenaries had given orders that the aircraft should head to Durban and threatened us that if we failed to follow their orders, the aircraft and passengers would suffer.
Ifu00a0 the passengers and crew had not cooperated, I must admit that I would have had a different story to tell.
In fact, my crew managed the show so well that two Nigerian passengers were unaware of the hijack and asked us, 'Why is the flight late? When will we land at Bombay?'
All we did was play along and it paid off. My only concern was to save the lives of the passengers and the aircraft. After we landed in Durban, I heaved a sigh of relief.
I was glad there were no injuries and loss of lives. Then we were escorted to Bombayu00a0 with the help of the South African authorities.
I spotted my wife and sons, who were eagerly awaiting my arrival. I waved to them and other Air Indians, crowding around them. To be frank, I became very emotional at that moment. As I alighted from the escalator, my wife garlanded me. It was all arranged by Air India. I hugged my wife and sons. They were really happy to see me and so was I. They must have been through many stressful moments after hearing of the hijack.
Several reporters were waiting but I was exhausted and could not talk to them. However, I was obliged to give some interviews.
No end
The drama does not end there. Twenty-five years later, I learnt from a newspaper in Mumbai that Peter Duffy, one of the hijackers, wanted to meet me and I obliged.
Various TV channels and publications wanted to witness our meeting and interview us.u00a0 It was supposed to be a historic event. Never before had a hijacker met the hijacked.
We relived the entire hijack, which had taken place 25 years ago. The hijack left a deep scar and it is not possible to forget even a small link in the long chain of events. Even now, when I happen to think of it, I wonder how I survived.
