Shivangi Menon, who ironically was not on the flight, is one of them! Her parents Bipin Menon and his then new bride were returning home from their honeymoon in Kathmandu, when tragedy struck, and their flight got hijacked.
Bipin, who now works at SEZ Noida, recalls that fateful day, “The flight was late and we were all seated at the lounge; I remember the hijackers, as we later came to know them, were eyeing us. It made us uncomfortable, but we didn’t take much note of it then. In fact, I remember I asked one of them, who later called himself ‘Burger’, about the flight timings, ” he says.
Years later, their daughter Shivangi, started hearing stories of her parents’ experience. Bipin adds, “She was about five years old then but as she grew up more, she began to ask questions and we would tell her about the hijack. She was in Class 11 when she became interested in the aviation sector, and that was the first time she told us that she wanted to become a pilot.!”
Shivangi, is now training with the Air India Express. She, in an interaction with News18 said, “IC 814 hijack was a turnaround moment in the aviation sector in India. Initially, I would ask my parents and then I began to read. There was no Google back then, but as it picked up I began to search for information. I watched the documentary on National Geographic, where there are shots of my parents returning from their honeymoon. I was very inquisitive. I wanted to know how to handle such a situation. Today, we are well-trained in anti-hijack operations. I want to do this for my country. Many of my friends, of course, ask me how I would handle such a situation.”
What is more, she has got full support of her parents. When asked if there was any trepidation, Bipin said, “Not at all. For me, that my daughter is going into a profession that does not have too many women, is impressive. Also, now we have many SOPs (standard operating procedure) to deal with a hijack situation. And I know people are saying many things, but I know the captain tried his best and he was right in prioritising and saving the passengers’ lives.”
IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack stars Vijay Varma, Patralekha, Manoj Pahwa, Pankaj Kapur, Naseeruddin Shah, Arvind Swamy, Dia Mirza and others.
