NEW DELHI: “Now even as a passenger, I will always be looking at people around me to ensure that everyone is alright and nothing’s wrong. A creeping doubt will linger on.” That’s how Captain Devi Sharan — commander of the Indian Airlines aircraft IC 814 hijacked in December 1999 — will travel hereon after operating his last flight as a pilot on Saturday and retiring on turning 65. Joining erstwhile Indian Airlines in 1985, the ace pilot hung up his boots after 40 years in the flight deck that have given him memories — and nightmares — for a lifetime.
“IC 814 hijacking taught me life is very unpredictable and one has to be always ready to fight back. Those were the toughest days of my life and my only aim was to save lives of everyone on that aircraft. I hope and pray no crew member, passenger or anyone else ever relives those moments,” Sharan told TOI Sunday as he prepares to board a set of long flights around the world over the next one year that will take him to Antartica and Siberia among other places.
The Kandahar hijacking was not the only time this pilot and some others in erstwhile Indian Airlines had a tryst with danger. He along with Captain S P S Suri — the pilot flew the hijacked aircraft of erstwhile Indian Airlines back home on January 1, 2000, — had another tryst with danger 12 years later. This time the two and their cabin crew member colleagues got stuck in civil-war torn Libya and were waylaid by AK 47-totting youngsters on the streets of the city. Luckily, they all escaped unhurt.
Captain Sharan did his flying training from Karnal in 1984 and then was selected by erstwhile Indian Airlines (which merged into Air India in 2007) the next year. He started with the Boeing 737-200, then operated the Airbus A320 and the A330 (one of which was hijacked to Kandahar). After the merger with AI, he flew the A330 and then the B787 Dreamliner. His final flight as a pilot was operating a Dreamliner from Melbourne to Delhi on January 4. The crew of this flight gave hi a special farewell.
“With the same enthusiasm of a young boy who once joined this airline, I now turn the page and embark on the golden years of my life,” he said in a mail to colleagues. After his year-long world tour is over, Captain Sharan plans to do farming in Karnal and may also be onboard the mega training facility AI is creating.
