At the height of the Cold War, on May 28, 1987, German teenager Mathias Rust, then 19 years old, flew a risky “peace mission” from Helsinki to Moscow
At the height of the Cold War, on May 28, 1987, German teenager Mathias Rust, then 19 years old, flew a risky “peace mission” from Helsinki to Moscow. In the video in this post, he explains why he did it in his own words.
With only 50 flying hours under his belt, Rust made the bold decision to accomplish what had previously been thought impossible. As you watch the video, it’s unbelievable how low he flew considering all the air defenses you would expect to be in place, particularly knowing how a MiG jet fighter passed him.
“It passed me on my left side so close that I could see the two pilots sitting in the cockpit and I saw of course the red star of the wing of the aircraft.”
Rust was scared, but the aircraft passed past and vanished into the clouds rather than striking him. According to the BBC, Rust’s plane was misidentified as a friendly aircraft due to a combination of extraordinary luck and human error.
Confusion was present in the air and at control centers due to a plane crash the day before, an ongoing search and rescue operation, training for new pilots, and these factors combined.
Without any more contact from USSR defense forces, Rust nevertheless managed to go hundreds of miles over Soviet airspace to the capital. He wanted to make a big statement by bringing down the aircraft in the heart of Red Square, but it was crowded with people at the time.
Normally, it would have been difficult for him to land there because of nearby cables that would have been in the way; however, by accident, they were down for maintenance. He intended to land where the parades are all held, but there were too many people and he instead chose to land nearby.
You’d think the military would lose control and capture him right away, yet they managed to find him. But, they surrounded him and the aircraft as well as numerous bystanders laughed about it, and praised his bravery.
After making peace, the incident’s pilot, Mathias Rust, spent 14 months in a harsh labor camp. He worked as a financial analyst and a yoga instructor in 2012, 25 years after the incident, and he still had no regrets.