Mathias Rust

MikeD

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Is 53 years old this month. I can still remember his historic flight in May, 1987. I was in high school and had been flying for about 6 months working on my PPL.

Then 19yr old Rust, a West German (back when there was two German countries, for the youngins here), rented Cessna 172 D-ECJB, and flew it on a several day XC, beginning from West Germany to Iceland, and from Iceland to Finland. From Finland, Rust departed east on his planned flight to Moscow. Western ATC and NATO forces saw Rust on radar heading into Soviet territory, but their warnings went unheeded as Rust had turned off both his comms as well as his transponder. Entering Soviet airspace, Rust did get detected several times by PVO air defense forces, both ground and air intercept, but confusion in the headquarters over who he was, some assuming he was a Soviet light civil aircraft, precluded his being fired upon. Several times he disappeared from radar due to his low altitude, and eventually when picked up again, was classified a friendly target in the confusion.

Arriving over Moscow, Rust had planned on landing inside Red Square, but decided to land near the adjacent St Basil’s cathedral instead, which he did, and rolled out taxiing to a stop at the edge of Red Square. Exiting the aircraft, several passers by asked who he was and had thought he was an East German, until he told them he was West German, which was surprising to them. Moscow police and KGB arrived in short order and arrested Rust.

The episode was a major embarrassment for the Soviet Union, and resulted in the dismissal of several Soviet flag officers and field grade officers. Rust was sentenced to 4 years in prison for violation of aviation laws and creating mayhem, but was pardoned after 14 months by then-Supreme Soviet Chairman Andrei Gromyko. Returning to Germany, it isn’t exactly known what kind of treatment Rust received in the Soviet prison system. His life post-release was somewhat troubled, as he had several run-ins with the law following his return to West Germany, from assault/battery to fraud/theft.

Rust has never piloted an airplane since this event.

D-ECJB was eventually sold to Japan, where it was displayed for several years, before being transferred to the German Museum of Technology in Berlin.

Below: C-172 D-ECJB sits parked on Red Square following landing there on 28 May 1987, with Rust leaning against the empennage awaiting arrest. Rust on trial in Soviet court. And D-ECJB hanging in the German Museum of Technology.

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Holy cow, time flies.

Having flown into SVO, you could even today, fly a Winnebago and they’d rely on position reporting to know where you are.
 
was wanting to create a peace gesture between the west and east, he stated.

I'm sure the people in PVO air defense who let a teenager in a Cessna penetrate USSR airspace didn't find life very peaceful for a few years.
 
I remember that too.

Seems like a touch and go in Red Square before heading for home may have been a better idea.
 
I'm sure the people in PVO air defense who let a teenager in a Cessna penetrate USSR airspace didn't find life very peaceful for a few years.
From Wikipedia:
William E. Odom, former director of the U.S. National Security Agency and author of The Collapse of the Soviet Military, says that Rust's flight irreparably damaged the reputation of the Soviet military. This enabled Gorbachev to remove many of the strongest opponents to his reforms. Minister of Defence Sergei Sokolov and the head of the Soviet Air Defence Forces Alexander Koldunov were dismissed along with hundreds of other officers. This was the biggest turnover in the Soviet military since Stalin's purges 50 years earlier.
 
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