28th May 1987: Mathias Rust, an 18-year-old German, illegally flew a private aircraft to Red Square

Mathias Rust had clocked up only 50 hours of flying time before commencing his journey that took in the Shetland and Faroe Islands, Iceland, Bergen and Helsinki before flying to Moscow.
Rust’s flight was an enormous risk for the young pilot. Less than five years earlier a South Korean commercial plane had been shot down after it strayed into Soviet airspace. Rust himself was tracked by three separate surface-to-air missile units, and a total of four fighter planes were sent to monitor him, but none of them were given permission to attack.
Rust approached Moscow in the early evening, and after passing the ‘Ring of Steel’ anti-aircraft defences continued towards the city centre. Abandoning his idea of landing in the Kremlin, he touched down on a bridge next to St Basil’s Cathedral and taxied into Red Square.
Within two hours he had been arrested. He was sentenced to four years in a labour camp for violating international flight rules and illegally entering the Soviet Union, but was released after serving 14 months in jail.
In a 2007 interview, Rust claimed that he hoped his flight would build an ‘imaginary bridge’ between east and west. What it actually did was cause massive damage to the reputation of the Soviet military for failing to stop him. This in turn led to the largest dismissal of Soviet military personnel since Stalin’s purges, and allowed Gorbachev to push ahead with his reforms.

[@bazlebreeze9938]

Early 60s, as a preteen, I flew my dads 172 to Moscow and back nightly, in a recurring dream. Surreal that Mathias actually pulled it off.

[@LarryAniel-w6r]

Denyed Sex Some Women I Did E-1 SO VAS

[@rokguitarstar]

I remember this well

[@garybaxter6668]

so it worked

[@maedhros0111]

And I wish it can work again

[@Insert-Retarded-Reply-Here]

@@maedhros0111 unfortunately it won’t, Russia is essentially a rogue state that will shoot down anything that crosses illegally into its air space

[@Zodroo_Tint]

@@maedhros0111 Right now the USA is the biggest threat of the world and they will not stop whatever will happen.

[@minibus9]

nice video

[@ravichristian6364]

very nice

[@LarryAniel-w6r]

E1 a long time sgo

[@LarryAniel-w6r]

E1 went to an Airport for flying 🪽 lessons a long time ago Paid 40USD for Cassette Tapes Gave Them To His Favorite Cousin In FL SES