40 years ago September 7, 1986: Pan Am aircraft hijack

Opinion 40 years ago September 7, 1986: Pan Am aircraft hijack This is the front page of The Indian Express published on September 7, 1986.

Key points

• 2 min readSep 7, 2026 06: 40 AM IST First published on: Sep 7, 2026 at 06: 40 AM IST.
• This is the front page of The Indian Express published on September 7, 1986.
• The Prime Minister remarked it was highly tough for him to say who was responsible for the hijacking incident.
• Mishra was rushed to Karachi's Jinnah hospital, where she was declared dead.

For context, the Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi blamed the Pakistani authorities for their ham-handed action in dealing with the hijackers who had seized the Pan Am aircraft, in which 16 individuals were killed and a number of were injured (according to the latest reports). The Prime Minister remarked it was highly tough for him to say who was responsible for the hijacking incident. According to But he, the hijackers were reportedly speaking Urdu – "a language which is spoken only in the subcontinent and not outside."

Neerja Mishra, a senior Indian flight purser on the hijacked Pan Am jumbo, was killed by terrorists before Pakistani commandos could enter the aircraft, according to information received in Bombay. Mishra was rushed to Karachi's Jinnah hospital, where she was declared dead. Her body is being flown to Bombay. Mishra was to celebrate her 23rd birthday on September 7. © The Indian Express Pvt Ltd.

For now, 40 years ago September 7, 1986: Pan Am aircraft hijack remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.