Neerja Bhanot
TL;DR: The flight attendant who died saving 359 passengers from hijackers.
Pan Am Flight 73
On September 5, 1986, Neerja Bhanot was the senior flight purser on Pan Am Flight 73, stopping in Karachi en route to New York. Shortly after landing, four armed terrorists disguised as security personnel stormed the plane. Neerja immediately alerted the cockpit crew, allowing the pilots to escape through the overhead hatch. This grounded the plane, preventing the hijackers from forcing it to take off.
Quick Thinking
The hijackers demanded the passports of all passengers to identify Americans, whom they planned to execute. Neerja realized their plan. She and her team secretly collected the U.S. passports and hid them under seats and down rubbish chutes. Because of her quick thinking, the terrorists could not separate the Americans from the other passengers, stalling their plan for 17 agonizing hours.
The Ultimate Sacrifice
Eventually, the lights failed and the hijackers opened fire in the dark cabin. Neerja managed to open the emergency door. Instead of sliding down the chute to safety herself, she stayed back. She shielded three unaccompanied children from the gunfire, taking bullets to her abdomen and shoulder. She died saving them. Of the 379 people on board, 359 survived thanks to her leadership. She became the youngest recipient of the Ashoka Chakra, India's highest peacetime military award.
The World Without Her
If Neerja had not alerted the pilots, the plane would have taken off, likely crashing into a populated area or being used as a missile. If she had handed over the American passports, dozens of innocent people would have been executed one by one. Her quick thinking turned a potential mass casualty event involving 379 people into a survival story for 359 of them.
