IC-184 crew had a contingency plan

Flight Captain Sharan donned the mantle of an Army Commander. The crew became his executing force and the passengers geared up to play brave soldiers. The motto was: 8220;At least hundred will live even if sixty of us die.8221;

8220;They were brutal and could have killed all of us, had their demands not been met. So the idea of facing any such eventuality was there in my mind right from the very first day of the hijack,8221; explains Sharan. So, all the while when we werehopping places amid the crisis, I was constantly thinking of meeting this challenge, he adds.

When the flight was finally halted at Kandahar, Sharan and his crew got some breathing space to think on these lines. 8220;We simply drew logical deductions. Knowing that they had pistols and hand grenades, we thought if all the five hijackers retaliated, at the most fifty or a little more of us would be killed. But the rest will survive.8221;

With whatever little opportunity Sharan and his crew could use to move around in the plane, be it to attend some the technical problems, talking to the Indian delegation, serving food or simply changing positions, they used it to pass on the message.

8220;Whatever little conversation I could manage to have with a few passengers, I told them to pass on further to those seated next to them and further when their positions were changed,8221; says Sharan who found himself in a very crucial situation about which he had hardly been trained except for keep patience8217; theory.

8220;We told thecabin crew and a few passengers, who we could convey the message, to just open the emergency exit on either side of the aircraft and jump off if hijackers started killing. According to the plan I had to shout evacuate8217; in such situation,8221; says Sharan.

8220;I said at the most you will break your bones but you will survive,8221; says Sharan. The flight captain, who became the hero of the entire episode, says that with all this in mind, saving every life was his responsibility.

8220;Some of us passengers had even thought to take the offensive and pounce on the terrorists. But we did not get enough support for this,8221; says Samant Brara, one of the passengers.

8220;We did not want to lose a single life. Under the existing circumstances any offensive stand by us could have resulted in casualties. So we kept waiting for the better and hoped that an agreement is reached between the hijackers and the Indian Government. Retaliation was planned only when death was imminent,8221; explains flight engineer Anil Jaggia.

ShreeramMaggo, who was also in the same flight, says that the message of the contingency plan did not reach up to him. 8220;But there was little chance we could have done that anyway. They threatened us with grenades even when we drank water,8221; he adds. Further, the men who were of strong built, were made to sit in one corner, hands tied, bent and surrounded by women. Even they had little option before them.

With the crisis over, neither Sharan nor Jaggia and least of all the passengers want to talk anything more about their traumatic experience. 8220;We all are happy to be alive second time,8221; rejoices Sharan.