Hijacked: Flight 73

I love historical documentaries, especially true crime, military history, and terrorist events like this one, etc.

But this whole documentary just shows close-ups of the survivors, and essentially no footage of the actual event. It's hard to sit and look at these elderly people now for that time, it should've been the reverse, and shown lots of the historical footage to put the viewer somewhat in the place of the event to give the better story.

Another documentary that came out recently is Desert one I highly recommend that one, the producers did that the right way they showed tons of historical footage and really put the viewer in that time and place.

Hijacked Flight 73 is a dramatization of an awful hijacking of Pan AM flight 73 in Karachi Pakistan. The plane was taken by 4 terrorists while still on the ground, and loaded with 300 passengers and crew. As per Pan AM policy, as soon as the terrorists took control of the passenger cabin, the flight crew escaped from a hatch in the pilots cabin. The terrorists then spent hours in negotiations trying to get the pilots back, so they could be flown to Cyprus. Sometime near the beginning of the negotiations, they killed a passenger to make a point. This film then basically showed 90 minutes of nothing else happening until the end. I won't put any spoilers here, but I felt this could have been told in a more compelling way. It was a waste of time to watch, and all you can do at the end is feel badly for everyone hurt or killed.

This documentary portrays the 1986 hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 in Karachi not just as a terrorist attack, but as a complex story of human courage, state failure, and political deception. One of its most striking aspects is how individuals like Neerja Bhanot shine through systemic collapse - her sacrifice to save passengers shows how ordinary people can become extraordinary in moments of crisis.

At the same time, the event exposes the Pakistani government's security failures, operational incompetence, and post-event cover-ups. The ill-preparedness of commandos, the chaotic rescue attempt, and the conflicting official statements all reveal that the tragedy was not just the work of terrorists, but also of a negligent state. While the documentary avoids direct accusations, the government's claim that "everything was under control" is painfully contradicted by survivor testimonies and facts on the ground.

Ultimately, "Hijacked: Flight 73" is more than a retelling of a hijacking - it's a powerful narrative that juxtaposes heroism with betrayal, truth with denial, and individual bravery with institutional cowardice. It's both thought-provoking and jarring. Watching it isn't enough; it demands reflection and scrutiny. Because sometimes, the deadliest form of terrorism comes not from guns, but from buried truths.