Aeroflot Flight 244 - Misplaced Pages

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1970 hijacking in the Soviet Union

Aeroflot Flight 244
Hijacking
An Aeroflot Antonov An-24, similar to the one involved in the hijacking
Date	15 October 1970
Summary	Hijacking
Site	en route
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Antonov An-24b
Operator	Aeroflot
Registration	СССР-46256
Flight origin	Batumi, Adjar ASSR, Georgian SSR
Stopover	Sukhumi
Destination	Krasnodar
Occupants	50
Passengers	45
Crew	4
Fatalities	1
Injuries	3
Survivors	49

Aeroflot Flight 244 was hijacked on 15 October 1970, making it the first known successful airline hijacking in the Soviet Union.

Synopsis

Lithuanian Pranas Brazinskas and his 13-year-old son Algirdas seized an An-24 domestic passenger plane en route from Batumi, Adjar ASSR, Georgian SSR, to Sukhumi and Krasnodar to defect to the West. Pranas had been sentenced twice by the Soviet authorities in 1955 and 1965 for financial crimes related to state-run shops where he worked. They selected seats closest to the cockpit in the cabin. Five minutes after takeoff while the aircraft was at an altitude of 800 meters, they called over the flight attendant Nadezhda Kurchenko and demanded control of the aircraft in a threatening note. Kurchenko tried to block the entrance to the cockpit but failed, yelling out that the two were armed shortly before the hijackers shot her twice at point blank range, killing her.

Several members of the crew were wounded in the onboard shootout. Pranas Brazinskas claimed the shootout occurred because of resistance from two armed guards on board. According to Russian media, the shootout was started by Brazinskas when the flight attendant ran to the cockpit to warn the pilots, and there were no guards on board. The hijackers commandeered the plane to Trabzon, Turkey, and surrendered to the Turkish government.

Aftermath

The Brazinskas were tried and imprisoned, but Turkey refused to extradite them to the Soviet authorities. The plane with its passengers was soon returned to the USSR. After spending some time in prison, the Brazinskas were granted amnesty in 1974 and made their way to Venezuela and finally to the United States. They were initially arrested but later allowed to apply for asylum.

The Soviet Union condemned the United States for granting asylum to murderers and pressed for their extradition. Up until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Soviet government continued to press for the extradition of the Brazinskas, and regularly assailed what they alleged was American hypocrisy in harboring terrorists who attack the aircraft of socialist countries, while pursuing very different actions against terrorists who attacked American nationals, such as in the Achille Lauro case.

In 2002, Algirdas (now known as Albert Victor White) was convicted in Santa Monica of murdering his 77-year-old father Pranas (by then known as Frank White) during a family argument.

After the hijacking, flight number 244 was still in use, even after the Dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The current flight departs from Moscow to Mahé, Seychelles.

References

Pranas Brazinskas: unknown side of life (in Lithuanian). Balsas.lt. November 16, 2001
^ Korobeinikov, Dmitry (5 December 2003), Dead on Arrival. Pravda.ru
Scott, Erik R. (2018). "The Hijacking of Aeroflot Flight 244: States and Statelessness in the Late Cold War". Past & Present. 243: 213–245. doi:10.1093/pastj/gty044.
"Bloody end to story of legendary hijackers".
Gubarev, O. Воздушный террор: хроника преступлений. М., Вече, 2006. pgs. 114-116
^ 1970 Hijacker Convicted of Murdering Father. Los Angeles Times. November 2, 2002
Krasnov, Vladislav (1986), Soviet defectors: the KGB wanted list, p. 125. Hoover Press, ISBN 0-8179-8231-0, ISBN 978-0-8179-8231-7
Eric Malnic (February 9, 2002). "Hijackers' Saga: Dad Slain, Son Arrested". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
Ginsburgs, George and Rubinstein, Alvin Z (1993), Russia and America: from rivalry to reconciliation, p. 171. M.E. Sharpe,
Hijackers' Saga: Dad Slain, Son Arrested. Los Angeles Times. February 9, 2002.
. flightaware.com

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in 1970 (1970)
Jan 5 Spantax Convair crashJan 28 Batagay An-24 crashJan 29 Aeroflot Flight 145Feb 2 Cornfield Bomber crash landingFeb 4 Aerolineas Argentinas Flight 707Feb 4 TAROM Flight 35Feb 6 Aeroflot Flight U-45Feb 15 Dominicana DC-9 disasterFeb 21 Swissair Flight 330Mar 14 Paraense Transportes Aéreos Flight 903Mar 17 Eastern Air Lines Shuttle Flight 1320Mar 31 Japan Airlines Flight 351Apr 1 Aeroflot Flight 1661Apr 1 Berrechid crashApr 21 Philippine Airlines Flight 215May 2 ALM Flight 980May 15 Dymshits–Kuznetsov hijacking affairJul 3 Dan-Air Flight 1903Jul 5 Air Canada Flight 621Jul 18 Soviet Air Force Antonov An-22Jul 22 Olympic Airways Flight 255 hijackingJul 27 Flying Tiger Line Flight 45Aug 9 LANSA Flight 502Aug 12 China Airlines Flight 206Sep 2 Aeroflot Flight 3630Sep 6 Dawson's Field hijackingsSep 8 Trans International Airlines Flight 863Sep 26 Flugfélag Íslands Flight 704Oct 2 Wichita State Univ football teamOct 15 Aeroflot Flight 244Nov 14 Southern Airways Flight 932Nov 27 Capitol International Airways Flight C2C3/26
1969 ◄ ► 1971

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1970 (1970)

Jan 5 Spantax Convair crashJan 28 Batagay An-24 crashJan 29 Aeroflot Flight 145Feb 2 Cornfield Bomber crash landingFeb 4 Aerolineas Argentinas Flight 707Feb 4 TAROM Flight 35Feb 6 Aeroflot Flight U-45Feb 15 Dominicana DC-9 disasterFeb 21 Swissair Flight 330Mar 14 Paraense Transportes Aéreos Flight 903Mar 17 Eastern Air Lines Shuttle Flight 1320Mar 31 Japan Airlines Flight 351Apr 1 Aeroflot Flight 1661Apr 1 Berrechid crashApr 21 Philippine Airlines Flight 215May 2 ALM Flight 980May 15 Dymshits–Kuznetsov hijacking affairJul 3 Dan-Air Flight 1903Jul 5 Air Canada Flight 621Jul 18 Soviet Air Force Antonov An-22Jul 22 Olympic Airways Flight 255 hijackingJul 27 Flying Tiger Line Flight 45Aug 9 LANSA Flight 502Aug 12 China Airlines Flight 206Sep 2 Aeroflot Flight 3630Sep 6 Dawson's Field hijackingsSep 8 Trans International Airlines Flight 863Sep 26 Flugfélag Íslands Flight 704Oct 2 Wichita State Univ football teamOct 15 Aeroflot Flight 244Nov 14 Southern Airways Flight 932Nov 27 Capitol International Airways Flight C2C3/26

1969 ◄ ► 1971

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in the Soviet Union in the 1970s
1970	Batagay Aeroflot An-24 crash (28 January 1970) Aeroflot Flight 145 (29 January 1970) Aeroflot Flight U-45 (February 1970) Aeroflot Flight 1661 (April 1970) Dymshits–Kuznetsov hijacking affair (June 1970) Aeroflot Flight 3630 (September 1970) Aeroflot Flight 244 (October 1970)
1971	Surgut Aeroflot An-12 crash (22 January 1971) Surgut Aeroflot An-12 crash (31 January 1971) Aeroflot Flight 1969 (March 1971) Aeroflot Flight 1912 (July 1971) Malév Flight 110 (September 1971) Aeroflot Flight 773 (October 1971) Aeroflot Flight N-63 (November 1971) Aeroflot Flight 2174 (December 1971)
1972	Aeroflot Flight B-608 (4 May 1972) Svetlogorsk An-24 crash (16 May 1972) Aeroflot Flight 1491 (18 May 1972) Aeroflot Flight 558 (August 1972) Aeroflot Flight 1036 (1 October 1972) Aeroflot Flight 217 (13 October 1972) Japan Air Lines Flight 446 (November 1972)
1973	Aeroflot Flight 6263 (January 1973) Aeroflot Flight 630 (24 February 1973) Aeroflot Flight X-167 (28 February 1973) Balkan Bulgarian Airlines Flight 307 (March 1973) Aeroflot Flight 2420 (April 1973) Aeroflot Flight 6551 (11 May 1973) Aeroflot Flight 109 (18 May 1973) Aeroflot Flight A-13 (August 1973) Aeroflot Flight 3932 (September 1973) Aeroflot Flight 964 (October 1973) Aeroflot Flight 19 (November 1973) Aeroflot Flight 2022 (December 1973)
1974	Aeroflot Flight H-75 (January 1974) Leningrad Aeroflot Il-18 crash (April 1974)
1975	Aeroflot Flight E-15 (July 1975) Aeroflot Flight 6274 (November 1975)
1976	Aeroflot Flight 2003 (January 1976) Aeroflot Flight 3739 (February 1976) Aeroflot Flight 909 (March 1976) Aeroflot Flight 1802 (May 1976) Anapa mid-air collision (September 1976) Aeroflot Flight 2415 (November 1976) Aeroflot Flight N-36 (December 1976)
1977	Aeroflot Flight 3843 (January 1977) Aeroflot Flight 5003 (February 1977) Tavda mid-air collision (May 1977) Aeroflot Tu-134 hijacking (10 July 1977) Aeroflot Flight B-2 (20 July 1977)
1978	Korean Air Lines Flight 902 (April 1978) Aeroflot Flight 6709 (19 May 1978) Yegoryevsk Tu-144 crash (23 May 1978) Iranian Chinook shootdown (June 1978) Aeroflot Flight 1080 (7 October 1978) Aeroflot Flight 6515 (23 October 1978)
1979	Aeroflot Flight 1691 (March 1979) Dniprodzerzhynsk mid-air collision (11 August 1979) Aeroflot Flight 5484 (29 August 1979)
1960–1969 ◄ 1970–1979 ► 1980–1991

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in Georgia (country)
Georgian SSR	Aeroflot Flight 207 (June 1960) Aeroflot Flight 663 (August 1963) Aeroflot Flight 244 (October 1970) Sukhumi Dranda Airport runway collision (August 1982)* Aeroflot Flight 6833 (November 1983)
Georgia	Tbilisi Tupolev Tu-154 crash (July 1992) Russian Air Force Mi-8 shootdown (December 1992)* Sukhumi airliner attacks (September 1993)* Gudauri helicopter crash (July 2022)
This includes accidents in the Georgian SSR and post-independence Georgia * refers to accidents and incidents that took place in Abkhazia.

Categories:

Synopsis

Aftermath

See also

References