Air Terrorists from Lithuania
In 1970, Pranas became the subject of the KGB's investigation. They started uncovering his history from the war era. Details emerged about his alleged participation in the execution of Jews in 1944, as well as the killing of a law enforcement officer. It should be noted that these accusations have not been substantiated. However, even prior to these events, Brazinskas and his son Algirdas made the decision to flee from the Soviet Union.
On October 5, the day came X. Ten minutes after take-off, Pranas, in the form of a captain of the Soviet army, called a stewardess and ordered to hand the envelope to the crew commander. The letter said that you need to fly the necessary route, and the punishment for disobedience is death. The signature is interesting: “The Organizing Committee of a Free Europe, General Krylov, the submitter of the order is the chairman of the cooperative“ Free Lithuania ”, a fighter for freedom”. As soon as Nadezhda Kurchenko took the envelope, the Brazinskas announced to the passengers of the plane that there was no longer Soviet power. The stewardess cried out: “Attack!” And Pranas shot at her.
Brazinskos remained composed throughout the ordeal. The fact that the crew commander, flight mechanic, and navigator were specifically targeted and wounded, while co-pilot Suliko Shavidze remained unharmed, spoke volumes. Shavidze was supposed to deliver the Lithuanians to Turkey, but upon approaching Trabzon, he signaled an SOS, alerting the special forces who were waiting for them. However, the Brazinskas voluntarily surrendered and laid down their arms. They were subsequently taken back to a local prison, while tensions escalated.
The Turks, not wanting to engage in open conflict with the Soviet Union, decided to imprison Pranas for eight years and Algirdas for two years, instead of granting them political asylum. However, they were kept in comfortable conditions. The Turks realized that once their prison terms expired, Pranas and his son would have to face the KGB. In an attempt to deceive the KGB, the Turks orchestrated a plan. In June 1976, the Brazinskas disappeared for the first time, only to be quickly discovered by journalists at the US embassy. To mitigate the situation, the Lithuanians were placed in a hospital, claiming to suffer from a hypertensive crisis. From there, they disappeared once again.
The Brazinskas resurfaced in New York at the end of September that same year, thanks to the secret services of Venezuela who had delivered them there. Originally, the plan was for them to disappear in Canada, but circumstances changed. They were placed under the witness protection program, provided with new documents, and settled in Santa Monica, California. The choice of this town was deliberate, as it had a strong Lithuanian diaspora. Upon setting foot in America, Brazinskas Sr. exclaimed, "Here is paradise for anti-communists." Despite the USSR's demands for their extradition, they were refused.
Destination Pakistan - Hijacking Tupolev 154
In the Soviet Union, a similar incident to the American action movie Air Prison took place seven years earlier, in August 1990. This day was celebrated as the Air Fleet holiday in the USSR. Little did the Tu-154 pilots know that their flight from Neryungri to Yakutsk would take an unexpected turn towards Pakistan. It was not uncommon for prisoners to be transported alongside passengers during that time. The important thing was to maintain a distance between them. Only three guards were assigned to escort fifteen inmates from the detention center (SIZO), and although they were armed, their pistol cartridges were blank. Additionally, the prisoners were allowed to bring their belongings, and no one bothered to check them. This created the perfect opportunity for the hijacking of the aircraft. Just a few minutes after takeoff, the hijackers announced their takeover. Disarming the guards was an easy task. Flight attendant Tatiana Shafargaliyeva received a note that read: "Girls! Inform the captain... let's blow everything up... but without causing panic. I apologize, but we have no other choice. Death is preferable to such a life."
First, the captured aircraft returned to Neryungri. The crew had managed to warn the police about what had happened by that time. Therefore, they were expected there. After negotiations, the bandits released all women and children, as well as several men. Instead, they received machine guns, pistols, body armor and radios. The criminals asked for more parachutes, but the then head of the KGB Neryungri Sergey Shestakov explained that the Tu-154 was not designed for jumping, it flies at too high an altitude. By the way, several invaders decided not to flee from the Union, so they voluntarily surrendered. After that, the plane first went to Krasnoyarsk (refueling was made there), and then to Tashkent. In this city, the Moscow anti-terrorist group Alfa was waiting for Tu-154. Everything was ready for the assault, but at the last moment the management gave a curb.
Having spent the night in the capital of Uzbekistan, the plane again flew into the sky. The criminals, focusing on the map, decided that they needed to sit in the Pakistani city of Karachi. It is interesting that the local authorities refused to give permission to land, and the pilots had to circle over the airfield for more than an hour and a half. In the end, the fuel began to run out, and the plane had to be planted without consent and under threat to use air defense systems. After landing, the invaders surrendered to Pakistani law enforcement agencies.
The family hijacked a plane in the Soviet Union
In March 1988, a Tu-154 airplane was hijacked by a large family from Irkutsk with the intention of fleeing the USSR
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At the moment of the incident the family consisted of the mother Ninel, 51 years old, and her 11 children (4 girls and 7 boys, aged from nine to 32). Ninel Ovechkin was a woman with a very tough character and the only leader in the family.
In 1983 the seven brothers, with the help of a music teacher, Vladimir Romanenko, formed a jazz band called “The Seven Simeons.” The oldest brothers Vasily, 26, and Dmitry, 24, managed the band. The most talented among the boys were 13-year-old Mikhail and 9-year-old Sergey, who also were “a trump card” of “The Seven Simeons.” Very soon the ensemble won a number of awards in different music competitions across the USSR, and gained popularity. A story about a talented family from “upcountry” was reported in the press and filmed in a documentary.
On 8 March 1988, Ninel and ten of her children embarked on a Tu-154 jetliner in Irkutsk for a musical tour in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg). Among their luggage was a double-bass case that was too large to pass through the airport x-ray machines. The Ovechkins refused to place it in the cargo hold, citing its value. Recognizing the famous band, the airport staff did not properly inspect their luggage. The family concealed weapons, including sawn-off shotguns and a homemade bomb, in musical instrument cases and smuggled them onto the plane. The flight had a total of 76 passengers, including the Ovechkin family.
During the lengthy journey, two of the Ovechkin brothers removed the sawn-off shotguns from their instrument cases and handed a note to the flight attendant, threatening to detonate the plane unless it was diverted to London. The armed brothers instructed passengers to remain in their seats. After negotiations, the cockpit crew, separated from the hijackers by a locked compartment door, managed to convince them that the plane did not have enough fuel for a long flight. The hijackers agreed to a brief landing in Finland for refueling. In reality, the crew, following instructions from ground control, secretly planned to land the plane at a reserve airfield near Leningrad. Upon landing, the jet was surrounded by Soviet soldiers. The armed family realized they had been deceived upon seeing the soldiers' uniforms and Russian writing on the equipment. The brothers became increasingly agitated, shouting and threatening to detonate the plane. Dmitry fatally shot a stewardess, Tamara Zharkaya, who had been involved in negotiations with the terrorists.
After refueling (which some sources claim was staged), two soldiers from the assault team managed to enter the cockpit and engaged in a chaotic gunfight in the passenger compartment, targeting the rear of the plane where the Ovechkin family was located. Several passengers were injured. Ninel Ovechkin, who had instructed her sons to kill her and themselves in the event of failure, was shot and killed by her eldest son, Vasily. He then took his own life. The three brothers, Dmitry, Oleg, and Aleksandr, detonated a homemade bomb, causing a fire on the plane, before shooting themselves. Seventeen-year-old Igor, disobeying his mother's orders, hid in a restroom to save his life. Twenty-eight-year-old pregnant Olga Ovechkin and her four younger siblings also survived.
As a result of this violent attack, nine people died and 36 were wounded, some of whom became physically disabled. The casualties were caused by the actions of both the Ovechkin family and the assault team.
In September 1988, the trial of the surviving adult members of the Ovechkin family commenced. Olga was sentenced to six years in prison, while Igor received an eight-year sentence. However, they both served only half of their terms. The younger children were placed in an orphanage and later taken in by the oldest daughter, Lyudmila Ovechkin, who had not participated in the hijacking. She also took custody of Olga's child, who was born while she was in prison.
Defection Viktor Belenko - Mig 25
He was born in Nalchik, Russian SFSR, into a Ukrainian family. Lieutenant Belenko served as a pilot in the 513th Fighter Regiment, 11th Air Red Army, Soviet Air Defence, stationed in Chuguyevka, Primorsky Krai. On September 6, 1976, he gained worldwide recognition when he successfully defected to the West by flying his MIG-25 "Foxbat" jet fighter to Hakodate, Japan. This marked the first opportunity for Western experts to closely examine the aircraft, revealing numerous secrets and surprises. The Soviet Union Air Force suffered significant damage as a result of his defection. Belenko was granted asylum by US President Gerald Ford, and a trust fund was established to provide him with a comfortable living in the following years. Following his defection, he underwent a five-month interrogation and debriefing by the US Government and later worked as a consultant for several years. Belenko had brought along the pilot's manual for the MiG-25 "Foxbat," intending to assist American pilots in evaluating and testing the aircraft. Initially, the Japanese government only permitted the US to conduct ground tests on the radar and engines of the plane. However, they later extended an invitation for extensive examination, leading to the dismantling of the aircraft in Japan. It was then returned to the USSR in thirty crates.
Belenko was not the first pilot to defect from the USSR in this manner, and there were others who defected from Soviet-bloc countries as well. In March and May 1953, two Polish Air Force pilots flew a Mig 15 to Denmark. Later in 1953, North Korean pilot No Kum Sok flew his MiG-15 to an American air base in South Korea. This MiG is now permanently displayed at the National Museum of the US Air Force near Dayton, Ohio. On May 20, 1989, Captain Alexander Zuyev flew his MiG 29 from the Georgian SSR to Trabzon, Turkey.
In 1980, the U.S. Congress passed S. 2961, which granted citizenship to Belenko. President Jimmy Carter signed it into law on October 14, 1980, as Private Law 96-62.
