Indian Airlines Flight 423

1981 aircraft hijacking

31°31′17″N 74°24′12″E / 31.52139°N 74.40333°E / 31.52139; 74.40333AircraftAircraft typeBoeing 737-200OperatorIndian AirlinesFlight originPalam AirportDestinationRaja Sansi AirportOccupants117 (including the hijackers)Passengers111Crew6Fatalities0

Indian Airlines Flight 423 (IATA No.: IC423) was an Indian Airlines Boeing 737 domestic passenger flight from the Delhi-Palam Airport to the Amritsar-Raja Sansi Airport on 29 September 1981. It was hijacked by five Sikh of the Dal Khalsa, masterminded by Sikh and taken to Lahore Airport in Pakistan. The plane had 111 passengers and 6 crew members on board. The Dal Khalsa had been demanding a separate Sikh homeland of Khalistan.

The leader of the hijackers, Gajender Singh, talked to Natwar Singh, India's ambassador in Pakistan, and put forward his demands.^[1] Singh had demanded the release of a militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and others, and a sum of $500,000 in cash.^[2]

Pakistan rescued the passengers upon request from India. Pakistan took commando action using its elite SSG which cleared the plane and got all passengers released.^[3] The hijackers faced trial in Pakistan and were sentenced to life imprisonment.^[1]

The accused, Satnam Singh, after completing his trial, returned to India and was put on trial there too. However, the court discharged him, stating that the accused has already served the sentence in Pakistan.^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b "The Hindu excerpt". The Hindu. 1981. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
^ Haider, Suhasini (26 January 2016). "Lahore to Pathankot, via Kandahar". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 26 July 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
^ "SIKH SEPARATISTS HIJACK INDIAN JETLINER TO PAKISTAN". New York Times. 1981. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
^ "Hijacker of IA flight discharged". The Hindu. 20 February 2000. Archived from the original on 26 July 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2018.

External links

Hijacking description at the Aviation Safety Network

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1981 (1981)

Feb 7

1981 Pushkin Tu-104 crash

Mar 2

Pakistan International Airlines Flight 326

Mar 28

Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 206

May 2

Aer Lingus Flight 164

May 7

Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 901

Jun 14

Aeroflot Flight 498

Jun 26

Dan-Air Flight 240

Jul 18

Armenia mid-air collision

Jul 20

Somali Airlines Flight 40

Jul 27

Aeroméxico Flight 230

Jul 31

Panamanian Air Force Twin Otter crash

Aug 9

1981 Barrington Tops Cessna 210 disappearance

Aug 13

G-ASWI ditching

Aug 19

Gulf of Sidra incident

Aug 22

Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 103

Aug 24

Aeroflot Flight 811

Aug 26

Aeropesca Colombia Flight 221

Sep 18

Zheleznogorsk mid-air collision

Sep 22

Eastern Air Lines Flight 935

Sep 29

Indian Airlines Flight 423

Oct 6

NLM CityHopper Flight 431

Nov 8

Aeroméxico Flight 110

Nov 17

Aeroflot Flight 3603

Dec 1

Inex-Adria Flight 1308

1980 ◄ ► 1982

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in India
1950s	BOAC Flight 783 (May 1953) Dan-Air Avro York crash (May 1958)
1960s	Alitalia Flight 771 (July 1962) United Arab Airlines Flight 869 (July 1963) Poonch IAF helicopter crash (July 1963) Gujarat Beechcraft incident (September 1965) Indian Air Force An-32 crash (February 1968) Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 892 (May 1968)
1970s	1971 Indian Airlines hijacking (January 1971) Japan Air Lines Flight 471 (June 1972) Japan Air Lines Flight 472 (September 1972) Indian Airlines Flight 440 (May 1973) Nepal plane hijack (June 1973) Indian Airlines Flight 171 (January 1976) Air India Flight 855 (January 1978) Indian Airlines Flight 403 (December 1978) Indian Airlines Flight 410 (December 1978)
1980s	Indian Airlines Flight 423 (September 1981) Air India Flight 403 (June 1982) Indian Airlines Flight 405 (July 1984) Indian Airlines Flight 421 (August 1984) 1986 Indian Air Force An-32 disappearance Pan Am Flight 73 (September 1986) Indian Airlines Flight 113 (October 1988) Indian Airlines Flight 605 (February 1990)
1990s	Indian Airlines Flight 257 (August 1991) Indian Airlines Flight 427 (April 1993) Indian Airlines Flight 491 (April 1993) Indira Gandhi Airport collision (March 1994) Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision (November 1996) Indian Airlines Flight 503 (July 1998) Pakistan Breguet 1150 Atlantic shootdown (August 1999) Indian Airlines Flight 814 (December 1999) Alliance Air Flight 7412 (July 2000)
2000s	Jalandhar MiG-21 crash (May 2002) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister helicopter crash (September 2009) Air India Express Flight 812 (May 2010)
2010s	Pawan Hans Mi-17 crash (April 2011) Indian Air Force An-32 crash (July 2016) UY Aviation King Air C90 crash (June 2018) Air India Express Flight 611 (October 2018) Indian Air Force An-32 crash (June 2019)
2020s	Air India Express Flight 1344 (August 2020) Indian Air Force Mil Mi-17 crash December 2021) Rajasthan MiG-21 crash (May 2023) Chetak Helicopter Crash at INS Garuda (November 2023)

Air India

Parent

Services

Operational	Air India fleet destinations Air India Express fleet destinations Air India One AIX Connect fleet destinations
Defunct	Air India Cargo Indian Airlines
Former	Alliance Air

Accidents and
incidents

Air India	Korangi Creek (1947) Flight 245 (1950) Flight 300 (1955) Flight 101 (1966) Flight 855 (1978) Flight 232 (1981) Flight 403 (1982) Flight 182 (1985) Flight 301 (1985) Flight 112 (1986)
Air India Express	Flight 812 (2010) Flight 611 (2018) Flight 1344 (2020)
Alliance Air	Flight 7412 (2000)
Indian Airlines	Hijacking (1971) Flight 440 (1973) Flight 171 (1976) Flight 410 (1978) Flight 423 (1981) Flight 405 (1984) Flight 421 (1984) Flight 113 (1988) Flight 605 (1990) Flight 257 (1991) Flight 427 (1993) Flight 491 (1993) Flight 814 (1999)