1995 Airstan incident
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1995 Airstan incident
The Airstan incident was a 1995 international incident involving Russia and the Taliban of Afghanistan. In August 1995, Taliban-controlled planes hijacked a Russian Ilyushin Il-76 plane with seven Russian nationals on board to land not at their Kabul destination but at Taliban-occupied Kandahar. The men were held prisoner for one year before being able to overpower their captors. After restarting their plane they were able to fly to freedom.
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Background
In 1995, Afghanistan was in a state of civil war. In late 1994 the Taliban movement sprung out of Kandahar and by early 1995 had taken control of most of the country south of Kabul, forcing other Afghan groups to abandon territory. In August 1995 the Russian crew of the Ilyushin Il-76 was working for Tatarstan-based[1] Airstan which was in turn leasing their plane to Avia, a Russian company that was based in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. On board the plane were Russian nationals: Vladimir Sharpatov (commander), Gazinur Khairullin (second pilot), Alexander Zdor (navigator), Askhad Abbyazov, Yuri Vshivtsev, Sergei Butuzov and Viktor Ryazanov.[2] They were transporting 30 tons of material from Albania to the besieged Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani.[1][3]
Capture and captivity
On August 3 a Taliban Air Force MiG-21 aircraft forced the Russian aircraft to land at Kandahar.[1][4] Negotiations between the Russian government and the Taliban to free the men had stalled for over a year. Efforts by American senator Hank Brown to mediate between the two parties broke down over a prisoner exchange.[2] The Taliban stated that they would free the airmen if the Russians released Afghans held by the Russian government. However the Russians denied holding any Afghan citizens. Brown was able to get the Taliban to agree that the Russian crew should be allowed to maintain their aircraft.[2] This request paved the way for their escape.[2]
Escape
The Russians had been planning their escape for over a year.[5] After Hank Brown secured visits to their aircraft for the whole crew they secretly not only did routine maintenance but prepared it for flight. On each trip the crew would be guarded by six Taliban guards but on August 16, 1996, half of the guards left the crew for afternoon prayers.[2] Seizing the opportunity, the Russians overpowered the remaining guards and the pilot was able to jump start one engine with a battery.[2] With one engine running, the remaining three could be started. The aircraft, with all seven of the crew aboard, quickly taxied down the runway. The Taliban tried to block the runway with a fire truck but the aircraft was able to take to the air thus avoiding the obstacle.[6] The escapees were able to quickly exit Taliban controlled airspace and charted a course to the U.A.E. The crew's escape was greeted with excitement and relief by the Russians and Russian President Boris Yeltsin telephoned the crewmen to congratulate them as they flew to Russia on a Russian government aircraft.[7]
In popular media
- In 2001 the men released a book about their ordeal called, Escape from Kandahar.[3]
- Kandahar - A Russian movie, by director Andrei Kavun, about the Russians and their escape.[8]
Current plane status
As of 2012 Ilyushin Il-76TD (RA-76842) is still in service under flag of the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service.
Bibliography
- Notes
- ^ a b c Reeves 1996
- ^ a b c d e f Associated Press 1996, p. 4
- ^ a b BBC Monitoring 2001
- ^ Farah & Braun 2007, p. 60
- ^ Washington Times 1996
- ^ Farah & Braun 2007, p. 63
- ^ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 1996
- ^ Bratersky 2010
- References
- Associated Press (August 19, 1996). "Daredevil airmen receive warm homecoming". The Register-Guard. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2HMVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=NesDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6871,5168910&dq=russian+taliban+plane&hl=en. Retrieved August 10, 2010.[dead link]
- BBC Monitoring (October 29, 2001). "Escape from Kandahar". BBC News. Archived from the original on 19 August 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/monitoring/media_reports/1624821.stm. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
- Bratersky, Alexander (February 9, 2010). "Afghan Escape Film ‘Kandahar’ Pulls in Crowds". The St. Petersburg Times. http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?story_id=30782&action_id=2. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
- Farah, Douglas; Braun, Stephen (2007). Merchant of death: money, guns, planes, and the man who makes war possible (2007 ed.). John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-04866-5. - Total pages: 308
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (August 19, 1996). "7 Russians escape after year as hostages". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PG&p_theme=pg&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EADF9DD4B7C3A19&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
- Reeves, Phil (August 19, 1996). "Russian airmen escape from Afghanistan". The Independent. Archived from the original on 19 August 2010. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/russian-airmen-escape-from-afghanistan-1310454.html. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
- Washington Times (August 19, 1996). "Russian hostages describe escape". The Washington Times. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=WT&p_theme=wt&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB0F20B7AD3A37E&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
External links
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