Indian Airlines Flight 814 also known as IC 814 was hijacked 5 masked men on 24th December 1999 for a period of 8 long days. The flight got hijacked just after 40 minutes of take-off from Kathmandu. The aircraft was piloted by 37-years-old, Captain Devi Sharan, first officer Rajinder Kumar along with flight engineer Anil Kumar Jaggia.
Heroic Captain Devi Sharan was bringing 188 passengers from Kathmandu to Delhi. These passengers included honeymooners, holiday-makers and businessmen. The captain had planned to go for a vacation with his family after getting landed.
When the aircraft got hijacked for 8 days, Captain Devi Sharan stayed calm because he knew that so many lives were at risk. Captain’s wise decisions saved the passengers and crew members on board in the hijacked flight.
In an interview, Captain Sharan shared "There were two terrorists standing behind me in the cockpit, and whatever I used to communicate to my co-pilot or the crew, they used to understand everything. So, I decided to keep certain things to myself. When the Lahore Air Traffic Control (ATC) refused permission to land the aircraft, I made a plan to pretend to crash land the aircraft so that it would put pressure on them to switch on the runway lights and allow us to land there".
"Believe me, my plan worked, and I immediately got a communication from the ATC that the runway is open, and we safely landed there.” he added. Captain shared that he did not discussed this secret plan with his co-pilot and crew.
He also kept updating about the hijackers and the condition of the aircraft to his higher authorities. While he was engaged in saving lives inside the aircraft, unfortunately, the Indian media was criticizing him for not stalling the flight in Amritsar. On landing Amritsar, IC 814 requested immediate refuelling of the aircraft. Captain Sharan shared that he hoped that with the help of the Indian government, the hijacking would be prevented and the plane would not take off from Amritsar.
Captain Devi Sharan tried his best to keep the passengers and crew members calm during the hijack period. He further shared about one of the hijackers named ‘Burger’. Captain said that Burger became a surprising source of entertainment as he used to get engaged in casual conversations with the passengers. The captain often cracked jokes to elevate the tense situation and stay calm during the chaotic conditions of the flight.
Captain Devi Sharan has got a lot of appreciation for his courage and composure. He handled the situation by staying calm under the chaotic atmosphere of the hijacked plane. People praised him for his remarkable leadership skills.