Career take -off

How a Soviet pilot hijacked a passenger plane to China

In December 1985, the Soviet passenger aircraft An-24 was deprived of China, which operated on a regular flight from Yakutsk to Irkutsk. The hijacking a second pilot of the aircraft Shamil Alimuradov due to the fact that he was not satisfied with his position in the service. He put a knife to the throat of the ship commander Vyacheslav Abramamyan and forced him to change the course. The plane was put in the field, Alimuradov was convicted in China, and then expelled in the USSR, where it was tried again. Thirty years later, the heroes of this story at the request of Medusa told the journalist of News.ykt.ru Lena Alekseeva, how everything was and what happened later. ( The text is published with small changes.)

"We will dine in Shanghai"

Clear morning on December 19, 1985 in Yakutsk there were 42 degrees of frost. The second pilot Shamil Alimuradov climbed the An-24 aircraft, which was supposed to fly to Irkutsk through Neryungri and Chita. He greeted the crew and joked: "We will dinner in Shanghai." No one attached importance to his words, everyone just smiled - the crew was already used to the strange jokes of Alimuradov.

Alimuradov was then 33 years old. After the flight school, he flew for three years with a second pilot on the An-2. In 1976 he transferred to the Yakut village of Batagay, became the crew commander. He entered the Leningrad Academy of Civil Aviation, after it transferred to Yakutsk, worked as a second pilot on the An-24. He married, a daughter was born in the family. True, problems arose with further advance on the career ladder - ultimately Alimuradov decided that the state was to blame and it was necessary to take measures.

As Alimuradov recalls now, his plan was this: to take a gun from the ship commander, neutralize the crew, capture the plane, fly to China. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” the pilot thought. The relations of the USSR and China in the mid-1980s were extremely tense. He did not think about fifty -two passengers sitting in the cabin. If something went wrong, he admits, he simply planned to send the plane to the ground.

Alimuradov knew that there were two pistols in the cabin - one with the captain, the other by the navigator. During the first stop in the Neryungri, the crew left the cab. Alimuradov lingered, began to look for a pistol, but did not find it either in the something or in the personal things of his colleagues. He took out a knife - it was his backup plan - and hid under his chair.

Further events of Alimuradov describes this way. There were four in the pilot’s cabin: captain Vyacheslav Abramyan, navigator Zhikhorev, Bortmeikhanik Osipov and the second pilot of Alimuradov. On the approach to Chita, at about seven in the morning, the Bortmeikhanik asked from the cab to the toilet. The captain was dozing at this time, the navigator worked. Alimuradov took an iron bar lying in the cab, already swung on Zhikhorev, who was sitting in front of him, but could not hit him. Then he prayed: "Lord, help me, I have not killed an innocent person!" After that, the navigator got up and left the cab. “At that moment, I realized that there was a connection between me and the Higher Forces, then I was convinced many times of this,” says Alimuradov.

Immediately after that, the flight mechanic returned from the toilet, but Alimuradov managed to deceive him: he said that he was looking for a stewardess-supposedly something broke in the cabin.

When Osipov left, Alimuradov got up from his chair, locked the door to the latch and pulled out the knife. Then he changed the aircraft course, directing it towards China, and disconnected the head of the head of the headphone so that he could not contact the ground. Five minutes after this, the dispatchers began to warn that the crew was lost from the course, but there was no one to answer.

The commander of the ship Abraman woke up, Alimuradov told him to look at the devices, and when he turned away, he put a knife to his throat. Further, according to Alimuradov, such a dialogue occurred between them:

- Are you crazy?

- We fly, I have nothing to lose, do not twitch! - answered Alimuradov.

- Shamil, you have a daughter, think about her, about mother, brothers, homeland! It's unsafe! Where are we flying? For what? It is pointless! - shouted the commander.

But Alimuradov by that time in his homeland was completely disappointed.

A fighter with the Soviet regime

Alimuradov had a protracted conflict with a leadership, which lasted a total of six years. At the end of 1979, after the graduation of the Leningrad Academy of Civil Aviation (Laga), Alimuradov was distributed in the 271st flight detachment in Yakutia and began to demand from the leadership so that he was made ahead of schedule.

At that time, an unspoken rule really worked: those who graduated from the Laga Command Faculty should have entered the commanding system out of turn. But Alimuradov began to “hold”-primarily because of a heavy character. He began to write complaints, each time to more and higher instances - in the end he even reached the Minister of Civil Aviation of the USSR. On his relations with the immediate superiors, all this, of course, was not reflected in the best way.

Over time, Alimuradov’s demands ceased to limit themselves to promotion through the career ladder. He began to complain about everything and about everyone. In early 1982, the pilot sent an urgent telegram to the Secretary General of the CPSU Leonid Brezhnev: “The point of non -return is passed, the consequences are inevitable, take measures!” Alimuradov even wrote to the UN, after which he was sent for examination to a psychiatric hospital. However, she did not find any deviations in the pilot.

All crews refused to fly with Alimuradov, declaring him a boycott. He was even transferred from flight work to Earth - but the pilot managed to challenge this order, and at the same time force the commission to consider his case to admit that some of his claims were still reasonable. As a result, as one of the leaders of the Yakut air squad said, Alimuradova helped out a senior fellow countryman, future president of Azerbaijan, and then - the first secretary of the Republican Central Committee, Heydar Aliyev, with whom Alimuradov supposedly had connections. He called the Ministry of Civil Aviation Deputy Minister Ivan Vasin and asked to figure out and restore the pilot in rights.

On March 11, 1985, Alimuradov, who had already seriously thought about emigration by that time, returned to work in aviation. In response to his requirements for the status of the commander, compensation for two years of work at a car factory and providing housing, the management issued an order to accept the pilot for the position of a second pilot. Thus, even the restoration of the previous status was not discussed. Formally, Alimuradov was hired again. He needed to start a career from scratch.

After that, Alimuradov had the idea of ​​the aircraft of the aircraft - as a revenge. He behaved defiantly: he repeatedly hinted about his plans to many colleagues.

“Do you know why all this was? Just small envy of me! I was not only in the detachment, but in the whole management of the only one who had a higher academic education! It was just the envy of the command, ”Alimuradov is still getting excited. “There was a team from above:“ Take it! ” There is nothing to be done, I agreed, ”recalls the crew commander Vyacheslav Abramyan. “By the way, I never had any complaints about the work of Alimuradov - he flew well, never argued or conflict with me.”

High -degree betrayal

The commander of the ship Abramamyan talks about what happened in the sky that morning, differently. According to the captain, he was sitting at the helm. The navigator went to the toilet, after him Alimuradov also went. True, the second pilot immediately returned to the cab and said that some extraneous noise was heard in the back of the fuselage. Then Abramyan asked the flight mechanic to go and see what was the matter. When the mechanic went into the salon, Alimuradov, instead of returning to his chair, locked the door, took out a home -made knife and put the captain to the throat. Further versions of the two crew members converge. The criminal case simply says that Alimuradov took advantage of the fact that the commander was distracted.

“When a terrorist is a passenger in the cabin, this is one thing,” says Abramyan. - And when he is a member of the crew who sits with you in the cabin, this is completely different. You are psychologically not ready for this, this is a highly betrayal! ”

According to him, in that situation it was almost impossible to do anything. Abramen could not resist, since his main task was to ensure the safety of passengers.

“The problem was that he, as a pilot, could foresee every step of my step, my every movement,” says Abramyan. - I persuaded him to abandon the criminal actions, said that I would take all the blame on myself, I will say that they got down from the route. But Alimuradov was adamant. ”

With the help of a “alarm button”, commander Vyacheslav Abramyan was still able to warn the dispatcher about the theft, after which he tried to outwit the terrorist and land at the military airfield near the border. But here, as luck would have it, the dispatchers demanded to report the course - and Alimuradov realized that they wanted to deceive him.

At that moment, the flight mechanic and navigator tried to break the door. Alimuradov forced the commander to hold on a given direction, turned off the distress signal and demanded that the flight mechanic and navigator stop the attempt to penetrate the cabin, threatening that he would kill Abramamyan.

On the way to the border with China, Abramyan still persuaded Alimuradov to turn on the distress signals back. According to the captain, there was a real threat to the security of the aircraft - the Chinese could be shot down.

The most terrible moment for Vyacheslav Abramian, he recalls, was the intersection of the state border. Being on the territory of China, without route maps and support for dispatchers, he could not control the situation. In addition, the fuel was running out.

“I was not afraid, and Abramyan turned pale,” recalls Alimuradov. “He thought they wanted to knock us down, I reassured him, but he no longer heard me.” And I told him: "Glory, this is all on their conscience - passengers, crew, all." He says: “I have a mother, children,” I answer him: “I also have a mother, children! Glory, a question is resolved!” ”

The captain managed to contact the Tu-154 crew, flying the train above-there was no connection with the land, Soviet air defense services and air defense services no longer heard the An-24 due to interference that occur during flight in the mountains. Colleagues provided Abramamyan with the coordinates of two airfields in China.

Flight abroad

“I headed in the direction of the airfield, where the radio compass indicated,” says Abramyan. - They flew for about twenty minutes, and suddenly the arrow of the radio compass began to rotate randomly, and then stopped and began to show in the opposite direction. I turned the plane and flew back. After about the same time, the arrow began to rotate again and indicated a completely different direction. Then I realized what was the matter. Apparently, ours told the Chinese that a civilian aircraft was in distress, and at that time relations with China were very tense. I think the Chinese were interfering, they wanted us to simply crash in the mountains. I do not want to scold Soviet power, but it is likely that ours also wanted the same. "

The weather was clear and frosty. An hour later, the mountainous terrain was replaced by plains. The fuel was getting less and less, it was urgent to decide where and how to land. Alimuradov insisted that the plane should be put near some settlement so that it could be asked for political asylum-if everyone remained alive.

After some time, the plane decreased above the rice field and flew on a shaving flight about five to seven meters from the ground to determine the depth of the plowing and the width of the furrows-the skills that the Abramyan had as a former pilot in agricultural aircraft were useful. As a result, he even managed to land the plane on the chassis. None of the passengers and crew were injured.

Soon, residents of the nearest village fled to the plane. It was located in the district of Tsitsikar, about five hundred kilometers from the border with the USSR.

"I have no requirements"

When Abramyan turned off the engine, the second pilot, who until recently kept it hostage, almost rushed to hug a colleague. “Glory, well done! This is your flight! You will be a hero! " - shouted Alimuradov, as he now recalls. "Yes, you went!" - answered the commander of the ship. “Do not forget that you are a hostage! - retorted Alimuradov. - Do not be offended, I did not want any evil to you, only to them! "

A few minutes later, passengers began to go outside, not understanding where they were. Many did not even know that the plane was stolen.

After some time, the Chinese military drove up to the plane. The hijacker with his hands raised (a knife remained in one) left the plane. “I need political asylum,” he said.

- For what purpose did you arrive in China? - asked the Chinese military from the hijacker. - What are your requirements?

“I have no requirements,” answered Alimuradov. - I am alone, however, I have a request. First: to allow the plane - passengers froze, they must be warm. Second: I ask for political asylum.

“We guarantee you political asylum, but you must cooperate with us,” the military answered.

Alimuradov was immediately taken to the administration of the village, where the first interrogation was held. There he was taken into custody. On March 4, 1986, in Harbin, he was sentenced to eight years in prison for the capture and hijacking under Article 107 of the Criminal Code of the PRC.

Two years later, on March 19, 1988, Alimuradov was parole. He managed to get a teacher of the Russian language at the Kharbin Medical Institute, then he taught at the pedagogical school and the Institute of Foreign Languages ​​in the city of Jiamus - this is almost on the border with the Khabarovsk Territory. On December 9, 1989, Alimuradov was transferred to the Soviet Union.

"I was on the verge"

“Well, I served, I don’t see anything wrong with that. Then he returned to the Union, they assured me that I would sit out for a year and will be released. And then the USSR fell apart, and I served full five years, ”recalls Alimuradov. - There were very good conditions in China: if you want - work, but you want - no. We went out for walks, attended concerts. I remember some singer came from Beijing, the presenter said: for the guest from the Soviet Union-the Azerbaijani folk song “Arshin Mal Alan”. ” Having freed himself, Alimuradov even married a Chinese woman, but she did not go to the Soviet Union with him. In 2000, he was in China, met with old acquaintances, they asked if he wanted to see her, Alimuradov replied that he was not: after all, 15 years had passed, she probably had a family, children, uncomfortable.

From the Soviet prison, Alimuradov continued to write complaints, wrote seven lawsuits, where he demanded to prosecute witnesses passing in his case - for slander.

“There are no heroes in this story. All are victims, ”he insists. - Remember the story of the German pilot, which broke Airbus A320, Andreas Lovets? The same thing could happen to me. I was on the verge - I should not do anything like that, so you can not consider me or Abramamyan heroes. ”

The crew and passengers of the An-24 stayed in China for a couple of days, then they were transported to Chita. All those flying with Alimuradov were removed from flights. Osipov recovered a year later, Zhikhorev left aviation. For six months, Abramyan was interrogated in the KGB - they tried to find out if he was in collusion with Alimuradov. He was removed from the queue for housing, for three years he interrupted by random earnings - he worked as a loader, a flight attendant.

In 1988, Abramyan was restored. He worked for a month with the second pilot, then he again became the commander. Finished flying in 1998; After the creation of the airline, Yakutia was appointed deputy of its general representative in Moscow.

“I forgave Alimuradov for a long time. But I don’t want to see him, and there is no desire to talk to him either, ”he says. -Of course, my career could have developed differently. I think not everyone would manage to cope with such a psychological trauma and overcome all these difficulties. ”

Alimuradov now is an entrepreneur, according to him, he is a part of United Russia. Married, his youngest son is two years old. Immediately after he left the Russian prison, he took his daughter to him. His first wife died in a car accident when he was in China. He does not regret the theft and does not consider himself guilty.

Lena Alekseeva

Yakutsk