Summary
This chapter tells the inspiring true story of Neerja Bhanot, a brave Indian flight attendant who sacrificed her life to save passengers during the hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 on September 5, 1986. The aircraft, carrying 360 passengers, had arrived from Mumbai and was parked at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan, when four heavily armed terrorists seized control of it.
Neerja demonstrated extraordinary courage throughout the ordeal. When the terrorists ordered her to collect passengers' passports (intending to target Americans), she cleverly hid the American passports and discarded them down the rubbish chute, saving at least 39 out of 41 American passengers. She alerted the cockpit pilots using a coded warning, enabling them to escape through an alternate exit, thus preventing the terrorists from forcing anyone to fly the plane to Israel where they planned to crash it into a building.
After 17 hours, when the plane ran out of power and the terrorists began shooting passengers, Neerja sprang into action once more. She shed all hesitation and worked to evacuate as many passengers as possible. Though she could have escaped herself, she stayed behind. When she finally attempted to exit, she noticed three children left behind. While rescuing them, she was fatally shot by the terrorists. This heroic young woman died saving others, living up to her own words: "I will die, but not run away."