173 Hours in Captivity

173 Hours In Captivity: The Hijacking of IC 814 is a 2000 book (ISBN 81-7223-394-9) written by Neelesh Misra, a New Delhi-based correspondent of the Associated Press. The book is about the hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814 on its journey from Kathmandu to New Delhi on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1999.

Introduction

The sequence of events outside the plane (IC 814) is a well-documented and familiar story. The book presents the events inside the plane. During their 173 hours of captivity, the passengers and the crew lived and re-lived, experienced and re-experienced many uncomfortable emotions. The book recaptures the sequences which happened inside the Airbus A300.

Inside the Airbus A300

Some of the incidents aboard the Airbus that are detailed in the book include:

Blackmail

This blackmail by the gang of five paid off and the passengers and the crew were flown back from Kandahar, Afghanistan to New Delhi - the price of their freedom being setting free few terrorists who were held under the custody of the Government of India.

Aftermath

The book hints that India was left alone following the hijacking of IC 814 because they negotiated with the terrorists, thus appeasing them.

See also