IC 814 Hijacked

by Anil Jaggia

What was the intelegence failure that led to the hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight IC814 from Kathmandu? Could the aircraft have been stopped at Amritsar airport? Was a commando raid planned on the aircraft? How was Rupin Katyal killed? Was the plane's destination always intended to be Kandahar? Was it merely prophetic that the hijackers had predicted the end of all negotiations on the millennium eve? These and other questions are answered in this blow-by-blow eyewitness account by Flight Engineer Anil K Jaggia who breaks the silence around the hijacking, with investigative reporting by senior correspondent Saurabh Shukla of The Indian Express

Genres: Nonfiction, India, History

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2000

Reviews

[Avinash Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chilling first person account of the Indian Airlines flight 814 hijacking. The book takes through the day by day real life description of the flight's journey from take off to hijacking to the days spent in captivity by the passengers.

[Raja Subramanian · Rating 4 out of 5]

When most of the world was celebrating the turn of the Millennium, the passengers of flight IC814 were traumatized by the hijacking of this flight out of Kathmandu. Family and friends of those on board IC814 were having an agonized wait for the safe return of their loved ones. Like many Indians, I was following the events on television and on all newspapers. It horrified me then, to learn of the brutal murder of Rupin Katyal who had been married just for 21 days. I grieved helplessly thinking how fragile life is. And like most humans I too let the memories recede into the background.

It was a conversation about books with my colleague, Aparna, that brought back memories of those terrible days. I learnt that her father Flight Engineer Anil K Jaggia was in the cockpit of IC814 and had written a book on this hijacking. I borrowed this book from her and read it in one single sitting!

While I had pored over quite a lot of things written then about the hijacking of flight IC814, the book brought forth the drama, the agony, the fears, the fragility, the fortitude, and above all, the hopes of the passengers and crew who wanted nothing more than return to their homes safe. The events are narrated in a direct and empathetic manner by Flight Engineer Jaggia interleaved with some fine investigative reporting by Saurabh Shukla.

The incidents are described from the cockpit in a direct manner without any vitriol or patronizing attitude arising from hindsight, with tremendous empathy. Saurabh Shukla's investigative reporting is an indictment of how the officers and agencies handled the emergency somewhat pathetically, allowing the drama to extend to so many days. Many of us cannot forget the pictures of Jaswant Singh escorting the dreaded terrorists to Kandahar and handing them over to the Taliban.

Whatever the ripples of the horrible event from a larger perspective, I am thankful for the safe return of the passengers and crew - except poor Rupin Katyal. I grieved for him then, and after reading this book, I grieve for Rupin Katyal and his family now.

I really wish I had the opportunity to have read this book as soon as it was published. But as the saying goes, "better late than never...", I am glad that I read this book. Given the backdrop that my colleague Aparna suffered enormously during the entire episode, reading this book was extremely special for me. I do hope that the book is available in the stores so that I can recommend this strongly to my family and friends. Perhaps the authors can bring out an electronic version of this wonderful book soon!

[Srishti · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Indian Airlines’ flight IC-814 from Kathmandu, Nepal, with Delhi, India as its intended destination, on 24 December 1999 took off at the scheduled time from Kathmandu but what happened enroute was far from any passengers' nightmare. IC-814 Hijacked is the firsthand account of Anil Jaggia, the flight engineer at the time and Saurabh Shukla, an award-winning investigative journalist, a prolific writer and the Founder and Editor in Chief of NewsMobile. The narrative is equal parts engaging, compendious and intense. I remember my grandfather told me about the hijack of 1999 that took India by surprise when I was little.

With 178 passengers and 11 crew members the plane had entered the Indian airspace at around 5:30 pm and was hijacked before long. What exactly was the intelligence failure that led up to the unfolding of later events and could it have been prevented? How was Rupin Katyal killed? Could his death have been prevented? Anil Jaggia and Saurabh Shukla answer all these questions and many more in the course of the book. Some would think that the narration is rather critical and harsh but the poor decisions, inaction and blame game of the system and states made up for a dismal exhibit.

The fluid narration and first person insight will had me hooked from the start. This is the book you wouldn't want to miss reading.

[Anuj Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting insider view from one of the most infamous hijacking in recent history.

I remember following the hijacking live via news channels like it was just yesterday, but it was eye-opening to read what was happening inside the aircraft and how the politics unfolded behind the scenes.

The book feels a bit skewed & too critical of the system in places but then you can’t blame a man who was stuck inside the aircraft for 8 days, not knowing whether he’d make it alive, to be reasonably angry at the inefficiency of the government and other authorities.

In fact, a few incidents mentioned in the book got me riled up as well, especially the whole behaviour of the aviation minister Sharad Paswan and how stupidly incompetent the agencies acted in some places.

Thank god that the passengers came home safe except for Mr. Katyal whose death was really unfortunate and perhaps avoidable as mentioned in the post script.

[Pratham Aggarwal · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is based on the real life tragedy that was faced. Really like the perspective of the book as this is the detailed experience by someone who was actually present there with fear within them. The book is a great option to know on the IC814 with great descriptive pages for timelines, seat map and more. It also has a very detailed list of people who were asked to be released and the first hand notes by a navy member present on board. The one thing that I did not like much was the way it is written. When we are talking about being on board, we start with describing events that took place at 8AM in the morning until 2PM in the afternoon and suddenly we move back to what is happening in Delhi or other places back to 8AM. This created a little confusion but overall, once you get the hang of it, this is a good and detailed book.

[Siddharrth Jain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine yourself seated within a flight, only to be told that it is hijacked. Precisely what happened to the ill-fated Indian Airlines flight number IC-814, on the 24th of December, 1999. The flight took off from Kathmandu to Delhi for it’s final destination but what awaited en route was anybody’s worst nightmare.

The narrative is a firsthand account of the flight engineer Anil Jaggia and is co-authored by Saurabh Shukla. The writing is extremely crisp and is truly unputdownable. It keeps you engaged of the ordeal, the flight crew and the passengers went through. And how Indian and International diplomacy / negotiations eventually worked out in releasing all the hostages. You would certainly not want to miss reading this book. 📚

[Sandeep Madkar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and engaging book. As the author was the flight engineer with the hijacked flight, the account of the events he has written is thrilling. Started and finished the book in one go.

[Louis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vivid & Gripping

[Akshay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gripping. Detailed and almost a fly on the wall .. like account of one of nation and aviations most trying times.

[Vineeth Nair · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thrilling read. Takes you through the story of infamous IC 814. A ver detailed account and a real page turner.

[Pratik Tale · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sorry Jaggia, but this book feels like reading the FIR. There is very little story building here. You can easily replace it by couple of news articles and wiki pages.

P.S. -- It is not the critics (like me) counts. Keep up your work :)

[Pankaj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Completed the book in 2 days, couldn't resist keeping it down. The Authors have doe good job in reproducing the events that happened during the Hijacking. A must read.