1995 Airstan Ilyushin Il-76 hijacking

(Redirected from Airstan incident) 1990s hostage-taking incident

Airstan Flight 199
Incident
The Airstan Il-76TD used in the escape.
Date	3 August 1995 – 16 August 1996
Summary	Fighter interception and impound
Site	Kandahar International Airport, Kandahar, Afghanistan
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Ilyushin Il-76TD
Operator	Airstan
Registration	RA-76842
Occupants	7
Passengers	0
Crew	7
Fatalities	0
Survivors	7

On 3 August 1995, Taliban-controlled fighter aircraft intercepted an Airstan Ilyushin Il-76TD transport aircraft, with seven Russian nationals on board, forcing it to land at Taliban-occupied Kandahar International Airport. The men were held prisoner for over a year before making their escape; after overpowering their captors they repossessed their aircraft, flying it to freedom towards Russia.

Background

In 1995, Afghanistan was in a state of civil war. In late 1994, the Taliban movement sprang 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 Airstan, which was in turn leasing their plane to Rus Trans Avia Export, 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. They were transporting 30 tons of weapons from Albania to the besieged Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani.

Capture and captivity

On 3 August 1995, a Taliban air force MiG-21 aircraft forced the Russian aircraft to land at Kandahar. Negotiations between the Russian government and the Taliban to free the men stalled for over a year and efforts by U.S. senator Hank Brown to mediate between the two parties broke down over a prisoner exchange. 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. This request paved the way for their escape.

Escape

The Russians had been planning their escape for over a year. After Hank Brown secured visits to their aircraft for the whole crew they not only did routine maintenance but secretly prepared it for flight. On each trip, the crew would be guarded by six Taliban guards but on 16 August 1996, half of the guards left the crew for afternoon prayers. Seizing the opportunity, the Russians overpowered the remaining guards and the pilot was able to start one engine from the auxiliary power unit (itself started with a battery). With one engine running, the remaining three could easily 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. The escapees were able to quickly exit Taliban controlled airspace and charted a course to the United Arab Emirates. 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.

In popular culture

In 2001 the men released a book about their ordeal called, Escape from Kandahar.
Kandahar, 2010 Russian film by director Andrei Kavun about the Russian crew and their escape.
The story of this is included in Operation Man Hunt (ISBN 978-1-78747-545-8) by Damien Lewis

Bibliography

Notes

^ Reeves 1996
^ Associated Press 1996, p. 4
^ 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 (19 August 1996). "Daredevil airmen receive warm homecoming". The Register-Guard. Archived from the original on 22 September 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
BBC Monitoring (29 October 2001). "Escape from Kandahar". BBC News. Archived from the original on 19 August 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
Bratersky, Alexander (9 February 2010). "Afghan Escape Film 'Kandahar' Pulls in Crowds". The St. Petersburg Times. Archived from the original on 14 February 2010. Retrieved 10 August 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 (19 August 1996). "7 Russians escape after year as hostages". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
Reeves, Phil (19 August 1996). "Russian airmen escape from Afghanistan". The Independent. Archived from the original on 19 August 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
Washington Times (19 August 1996). "Russian hostages describe escape". The Washington Times. Retrieved 10 August 2010.

External links

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in 1995 (1995)
Jan 11 Intercontinental de Aviación Flight 256Jan 19 Bristow Helicopters Flight 56CJan 30 TransAsia Airways Flight 510AFeb 10 Borodianka mid-air collisionFeb 16 Air Transport International Flight 782Mar 31 TAROM Flight 371May 16 Royal Air Force Nimrod R1 XW666May 24 Knight Air Flight 816Jun 9 Ansett New Zealand Flight 703Jun 21 All Nippon Airways Flight 857Jun 24 Lagos Harka Air Services Tu-134 crashAug 3 Airstan incidentAug 9 Aviateca Flight 901Aug 21 Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529Sep 2 Royal Air Force Nimrod MR2 XV239Sep 15 Malaysia Airlines Flight 2133Sep 19 Kish Air Flight 707Sep 21 MIAT Flight 557Sep 22 Alaska E-3 Sentry accidentNov 12 American Airlines Flight 1572Nov 13 Nigeria Airways Flight 357Dec 3 Cameroon Airlines Flight 3701Dec 5 Azerbaijan Airlines Flight A-56Dec 7 Khabarovsk United Air Group Flight 3949Dec 7 Air St. Martin Beech 1900 crashDec 13 Banat Air Flight 166Dec 18 Trans Service Airlift L-188 crashDec 20 Tower Air Flight 41Dec 20 American Airlines Flight 965
1994 ◄ ► 1996

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1995 (1995)

Jan 11 Intercontinental de Aviación Flight 256Jan 19 Bristow Helicopters Flight 56CJan 30 TransAsia Airways Flight 510AFeb 10 Borodianka mid-air collisionFeb 16 Air Transport International Flight 782Mar 31 TAROM Flight 371May 16 Royal Air Force Nimrod R1 XW666May 24 Knight Air Flight 816Jun 9 Ansett New Zealand Flight 703Jun 21 All Nippon Airways Flight 857Jun 24 Lagos Harka Air Services Tu-134 crashAug 3 Airstan incidentAug 9 Aviateca Flight 901Aug 21 Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529Sep 2 Royal Air Force Nimrod MR2 XV239Sep 15 Malaysia Airlines Flight 2133Sep 19 Kish Air Flight 707Sep 21 MIAT Flight 557Sep 22 Alaska E-3 Sentry accidentNov 12 American Airlines Flight 1572Nov 13 Nigeria Airways Flight 357Dec 3 Cameroon Airlines Flight 3701Dec 5 Azerbaijan Airlines Flight A-56Dec 7 Khabarovsk United Air Group Flight 3949Dec 7 Air St. Martin Beech 1900 crashDec 13 Banat Air Flight 166Dec 18 Trans Service Airlift L-188 crashDec 20 Tower Air Flight 41Dec 20 American Airlines Flight 965

1994 ◄ ► 1996

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in 1996 (1996)
Jan 8 Air Africa crashFeb 4 LAC Colombia Flight 028Feb 6 Birgenair Flight 301Feb 29 Faucett Perú Flight 251Apr 3 USAF CT-43 crashApr 5 Formosa Airlines Flight 7613May 11 ValuJet Flight 592Jun 9 Eastwind Airlines Flight 517Jun 13 Garuda Indonesia Flight 865Jul 6 Delta Air Lines Flight 1288Jul 15 Belgian Air Force Hercules crashJul 17 TWA Flight 800Aug 16 Airstan incidentAug 19 Spair Airlines Flight 3601Aug 29 Vnukovo Airlines Flight 2801Sep 3 Hemus Air Flight 7081Sep 5 FedEx Express Flight 1406Sep 25 Texel Douglas DC-3 crashOct 2 Aeroperú Flight 603Oct 5 Westendorff UFO sightingOct 22 Millon Air Flight 406Oct 31 TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402Nov 7 ADC Airlines Flight 086Nov 12 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collisionNov 19 Quincy Airport disasterNov 23 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961Nov 27 RA-78804Dec 9 Dirgantara Air Service Flight 5940Dec 22 Airborne Express Flight 827Dec 24 New Hampshire Learjet crash
1995 ◄ ► 1997

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1996 (1996)

Jan 8 Air Africa crashFeb 4 LAC Colombia Flight 028Feb 6 Birgenair Flight 301Feb 29 Faucett Perú Flight 251Apr 3 USAF CT-43 crashApr 5 Formosa Airlines Flight 7613May 11 ValuJet Flight 592Jun 9 Eastwind Airlines Flight 517Jun 13 Garuda Indonesia Flight 865Jul 6 Delta Air Lines Flight 1288Jul 15 Belgian Air Force Hercules crashJul 17 TWA Flight 800Aug 16 Airstan incidentAug 19 Spair Airlines Flight 3601Aug 29 Vnukovo Airlines Flight 2801Sep 3 Hemus Air Flight 7081Sep 5 FedEx Express Flight 1406Sep 25 Texel Douglas DC-3 crashOct 2 Aeroperú Flight 603Oct 5 Westendorff UFO sightingOct 22 Millon Air Flight 406Oct 31 TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402Nov 7 ADC Airlines Flight 086Nov 12 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collisionNov 19 Quincy Airport disasterNov 23 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961Nov 27 RA-78804Dec 9 Dirgantara Air Service Flight 5940Dec 22 Airborne Express Flight 827Dec 24 New Hampshire Learjet crash

1995 ◄ ► 1997

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in Afghanistan
1980s	Bakhtar Afghan Airlines Antonov An-26 shootdown (September 1985) Bakhtar Afghan Airlines Antonov An-26 shootdown (June 1987)
1990s	Airstan incident (August 1995) Ariana Afghan Airlines crash (March 1998) Indian Airlines Flight 814 (December 1999)
2000s	Blackwater 61 crash (November 2004) Kam Air Flight 904 (February 2005)
2010s	Pamir Airways Flight 112 (May 2010) Transafrik International Flight 662 (October 2010) Silk Way Airlines Flight 995 (July 2011) Boeing Chinook shootdown (August 2011) National Airlines Flight 102 (April 2013) Silk Way Airlines Antonov An-12 crash (May 2016)
See also: List of aviation accidents and incidents in the war in Afghanistan, List of Soviet aircraft losses during the Soviet–Afghan War

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