Vidya1111 at 14:50, 7 December 2025

2025-12-07T14:50:46Z

New page

{{Short description|Indian airline pilot}}
{{Infobox aviator
| name = Devi Sharan
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| full_name =
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1962}}
| birth_place = [[Haryana]]
| death_date = 
| death_place =
| death_cause =
| resting_place =
| resting_place_coordinates = 
| monuments =
| nationality = 
| education = [[Dyal Singh College, Delhi|Dyal Singh College]], Delhi, India
| spouse =
| relatives =
| known_for = [[Indian Airlines Flight 814]]<br>''[[IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack]]''
| first_flight_date =
| first_flight_aircraft =
| famous_flights = [[Indian Airlines Flight 814]]
| license_date =
| license_place =
| air_force =
| battles =
| rank =
| awards =
| memorials =
| first_race = 
| racing_best = 
| racing_aircraft = 
| website = 
| child =
| module =
}}
'''Devi Sharan''' (born 1962) is an Indian retired aircraft pilot who was the captain of [[Indian Airlines Flight 814]] when it was hijacked by the [[Harkat-ul-Mujahideen]] in December 1999.

In 2024, [[Netflix]] released ''[[IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack]]'', a drama series adapted from Sharan's biography, ''Flight Into Fear''.

==Early life==
Devi Sharan was born in 1962 in the village of Sawant, near [[Karnal]] in [[Haryana]].<ref name=Hachette>{{cite web |title=Hachette India |url=https://www.hachetteindia.com/Home/bookdetails/Info/9789357314756/the-ic-814-captain-s-story-flight-into-fear#:~:text=Captain%20Devi%20Sharan%20was%20born,resolving%20the%20IC%20814%20hijacking. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250529140045/https://www.hachetteindia.com/Home/bookdetails/Info/9789357314756/the-ic-814-captain-s-story-flight-into-fear |archive-date=29 May 2025 |access-date=28 May 2025 |website=www.hachetteindia.com}}</ref> He graduated from [[Dyal Singh College, Delhi|Dyal Singh College]], Delhi, and joined [[Indian Airlines]] in 1986.<ref name=Hachette/> Early in his flying career he flew the Boeing 737-200.<ref name=HT2024>{{cite news |date=6 January 2025 |title=Captain Devi Sharan, pilot of hijacked IC 814, retires after 40-year career |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/captain-devi-sharan-pilot-of-hijacked-ic-814-retires-after-40-year-career-101736150104777.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250529133628/https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/captain-devi-sharan-pilot-of-hijacked-ic-814-retires-after-40-year-career-101736150104777.html |archive-date=29 May 2025 |access-date=28 May 2025 |work=Hindustan Times}}</ref> By the late 1990s, he was flying Airbus aircraft.<ref name=Hachette/>

===Indian Airlines Flight 814===
{{Main article|Indian Airlines Flight 814}}
Sharan was the captain of [[Indian Airlines Flight 814]] when it was hijacked by the [[Harkat-ul-Mujahideen]] in December 1999.<ref name=Donald>{{cite book |last1=MacDonald |first1=Myra |title=Defeat is an Orphan: How Pakistan Lost the Great South Asian War |date=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-1-84904-641-1 |page=1-26 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dvIwDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT4|chapter=Prologue |language=en}}</ref>

==Later life==
In 2011 during the [[Libyan civil war (2011)|Libyan civil war]] and [[Operation Safe Homecoming]] he operated an Airbus to Libya.<ref name=ToI>{{cite news |date=6 January 2025 |title=Captain Devi Sharan’s other tryst with danger with the pilot who flew IC 814 back home |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/captain-devi-sharans-other-tryst-with-danger-with-the-pilot-who-flew-ic-814-back-home/articleshow/116997474.cms |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250529134727/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/captain-devi-sharans-other-tryst-with-danger-with-the-pilot-who-flew-ic-814-back-home/articleshow/116997474.cms |archive-date=29 May 2025 |access-date=28 May 2025 |work=The Times of India}}</ref>

In 2024, [[Netflix]] released ''[[IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack]]'', a drama series adapted from Sharan's autobiography ''[[Flight Into Fear: The Captain's Story|Flight Into Fear]]'', based on the 1999 hijacking incident, with actor [[Vijay Varma]] portraying Sharan.<ref name=EconomicT2024>{{cite news |date=1 September 2024 |title=Who is IC 814 Hijack flight Captain Devi Sharan? The hero of 1999 hijack, played by Vijay Varma in Netflix series |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/new-updates/who-is-ic-814-hijack-flight-captain-devi-sharan-the-hero-of-1999-hijack-played-by-vijay-varma-in-netflix-series/articleshow/112962184.cms?from=mdr |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250529135502/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/new-updates/who-is-ic-814-hijack-flight-captain-devi-sharan-the-hero-of-1999-hijack-played-by-vijay-varma-in-netflix-series/articleshow/112962184.cms?from=mdr |archive-date=29 May 2025 |access-date=27 May 2025 |work=The Economic Times}}</ref>

Sharan retired in 2025, taking his last flight on 4 January, when he flew a [[Boeing 787 Dreamliner]] from Melbourne to Delhi.<ref name=HT2024/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |last1=Jaggia |first1=Anil K. |last2=Shukla |first2=Saurabh |title=IC 814 Hijacked: The Inside Story |date=2021 |publisher=Roli Books |isbn=978-81-951248-9-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZzcyEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT1 |language=en|location=New Delhi}}
*{{cite book |last1=Sharan |first1=Devi |last2=Chowdhury |first2=Srinjoy |title=Flight Into Fear: The Captain's Story |date=2000 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-14-029755-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/flightintofearca0000shar/mode/2up|language=en}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharan, Devi}}
[[Category:Hijacking survivors]]
[[Category:1962 births]]
[[Category:Indian aviators]]
[[Category:People from Haryana]]
[[Category:Living people]]

Devi Sharan - Revision history

Vidya1111 at 14:50, 7 December 2025