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BBC: The German Teenager who flew past Soviet Air Defences to Land in Red Square

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Never heard this story before, quite amazing.

Mathias Rust: German teenager who flew to Red Square
In 1987 a West German teenager shocked the world, by flying through Soviet air defences to land a Cessna aeroplane in Red Square. He was jailed for more than a year - but a quarter of a century later, he has no regrets.

A summit between the US and Russian presidents in Reykjavik had ended in a stalemate, and the teenager who had a passion for politics felt he wanted to do something to make a difference.

"I thought every human on this planet is responsible for some progress and I was looking for an opportunity to take my share in it," he says.

Rust already had a pilot's licence and had clocked up 50 hours in the air when it occurred to him to put his skill to use.

"I was thinking I could use the aircraft to build an imaginary bridge between West and East to show that a lot of people in Europe wanted to improve relations between our worlds."

Many idealistic teenagers may have had similar fantasies of bringing about world peace by performing daring acts. The difference with Rust is that he actually went ahead with his plan.

On 13 May 1987 he told his parents he was going to tour northern Europe in a Cessna airplane in order to clock up hours towards his professional pilot's licence.

1. Heads from Helsinki towards Stockholm and turns off transponder

2. Changes course near the Finnish town of Nummela

3. Flies past his first waypoint, a radio beacon, as fighters are scrambled

4. Passes Lake Seliger, a popular summer retreat

5. Is spotted by radar in Torzhok

6. Goes through Moscow's "Ring of Steel" anti-aircraft defence system, lands just by Red Square, and pulls up next to St Basil's Cathedral

Within minutes he had been picked up by Soviet radar, and less than an hour later a MIG fighter jet approached him.

"It passed me on my left side so close that I could see the two pilots sitting in the cockpit and I saw of course the red star of the wing of the aircraft."

Rust was terrified, but instead of attacking him, the jet passed by and disappeared into the clouds.


A combination of unbelievable luck and human error had led to Rust's plane being mistaken for a friendly aircraft.

A plane crash the previous day, and an on-going rescue operation, along with training for new pilots had led to confusion in the air and in control centres.

Somehow Rust managed to make it hundreds of miles across Soviet airspace to the capital without any further contact from USSR defence forces.

"I couldn't believe I actually survived," he recalls.

"I had calculated at the time that my chances of survival were about 50:50 and after I reached my destination, I knew that I really was on the lucky side."

He had wanted to bring down the plane in the middle of Red Square in order to make a big statement but the landmark was packed full of people.

On the ground, Soviet citizens were stopping and looking up in amazement as the small white plane circled just 32 feet (10m) above the ground.

Finally Rust spotted a four-lane bridge next to St Basil's Cathedral so he circled around one more time and touched down there.

Later, when he was questioned by the Russian police, he learned that the bridge was usually spanned by thick cables, which would have made a landing impossible.

In the Kremlin there was shock and plenty of red faces as the full extent of the humiliating incident became apparent.

But it is likely that President Gorbachev realised he could use the opportunity to his advantage to rid himself of military officials whom he saw as standing in the way of his reforms.

Within a couple of days the minister of defence had been forced to retire, and the head of the air defence services had been sacked. Over the next few months more than 150 people lost their jobs.

The judge sentenced him to four years in a labour camp for what he called an act of adventurism.
...
Then in 1988, following the signing of a non-proliferation treaty by Reagan and Gorbachev, Rust was released as a gesture of good will after serving only 14 months.

The Twist:

Within a year of returning to Hamburg, Rust stabbed a colleague at a hospital where he worked and ended up behind bars again.
 

shira

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In the Kremlin there was shock and plenty of red faces as the full extent of the humiliating incident became apparent.

But it is likely that President Gorbachev realised he could use the opportunity to his advantage to rid himself of military officials whom he saw as standing in the way of his reforms.

Within a couple of days the minister of defence had been forced to retire, and the head of the air defence services had been sacked. Over the next few months more than 150 people lost their jobs.


Holy shit this kid brought down the Soviet Union. And to think all these years that I thought Rocky Balboa did.
 
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