Flight Crew of Hijacked Pan Am Flight 73 Honored at 2006 National Crime Victim's Rights Ceremony

Washington, D.C. – April 28, 2006: Crowell & Moring LLP would like to recognize 13 of the firm's Pan Am Flight 73 victims of terrorism clients who were presented the Special Courage Award by Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales during the National Crime Victims’ Rights Week Awards Ceremony on April 21, 2006. The victims were recognized for their extraordinary bravery during the September 5, 1986 terrorist hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 in Karachi, Pakistan. The Pan Am 73 terrorist attack killed 20 passengers and crew and severely injured more than 100 of the 380 persons on board.

The 13 Crowell & Moring flight attendant clients honored include:

• Nupoor Abrol
• Madhvi Bahuguna
• Neerja Bhanot (Ms. Bhanot lost her life in the hijacking while saving numerous passengers and children)
• Dilip Bidichandani
• Cecilia Da Silva
• Samira Goode
• Astrid Lobo
• Lillian Nazareth
• Mary Anne Nigli
• Sherene Pavan
• Ranee Vaswani
• Sunshine Vesuwala
• Louella Walker
  

The Special Courage Award recognizes an individual or individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary bravery in the aftermath of crime or who have performed a courageous act on behalf of a victim or potential victim. The award may honor a victim or survivor who has exhibited exceptional perseverance or determination in dealing with his or her own victimization or it may acknowledge an individual who has acted bravely either to aid a victim or to prevent a victimization.

"Given the Department’s priority of preventing another terrorist attack, I must say a few words about the flight crew of hijacked Pan Am flight 73 and the Pan Am director on the ground in Pakistan. Their calm determination 20 years ago showed the world the difference between humanity and barbarism. I thank so many of them for coming from half the world away to be with us," stated Attorney General Gonzales in his prepared remarks at the ceremony.

On April 5, 2006, Crowell & Moring LLP filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, on behalf of one hundred seventy-six passengers, estates, and family members who were victims of the September 5, 1986 terrorist hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 in Karachi, Pakistan, against Libya and the individuals convicted of launching the attack.