During the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, a number of pilots from various nations (

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...

Western Bloc The Western Bloc, also known as the Capitalist Bloc, the Freedom Bloc, the Free Bloc, and the American Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of countries that were officially allied with the United States during the Cold War (1947–1991). While ...

, and non-aligned)

defected In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...

with their aircraft to other countries.

Afghanistan

* On November 24, 1960, Royal Afghan Air Force pilot Abdus Samad Fazli defected by flying his J-3 Cub across the border to Pakistan. * On February 26, 1981, Afghan Air Force pilot Captain Jamal ud Din defected with his crew to Pakistan on board a Mi-8T helicopter numbered 285, during post-maintenance flight test from Kandahar Air Base. * On November 20, 1983, Captain Mohammed Nabi Korinzay defected to Pakistan with his Su-7BM fighter-bomber. The aircraft broke up during a crash landing on the runway at

Dalbandin Dalbandin (Urdu and ) is a city and the headquarter of Chagai district in Pakistan's Balochistan province, near the Iran and Afghanistan border. The city has a population of 16,319, and the remainder of the entire Dalbandin Tehsil has a popula ...

. * On September 22, 1984, Colonel Haji Fakir, flying an

An-26 The Antonov An-26 (NATO reporting name: Curl) is a twin-engined turboprop civilian and military transport aircraft, designed and produced in the Soviet Union from 1969 to 1986.Gordon, Yefim. Komissarov, Dmitry & Sergey. "Antonov's Turboprop Twins ...

defected from Afghanistan to

Miranshah Mīrānshāh ()() is a main town in the region that is the administrative headquarters of North Waziristan District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Miranshah lies on the banks of the Tochi River in a wide valley surrounded by the foo ...

Air Base, Pakistan. * On June 28, 1985, the crews of two

Mi-24 The Mil Mi-24 (; NATO reporting name: Hind) is a large helicopter gunship, attack helicopter and low-capacity transport helicopter, troop transport with room for eight passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and was introduced ...

Hind-Ds defected from Afghanistan to Pakistan. The helicopters were later transferred to the United States for evaluation, they were later returned and one of them is now at display in Khalid Aviation Base Quetta (Pakistan). * On December 8, 1988, Captain Asadullah flying a

MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet aircraft, jet fighter aircraft, fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan, Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB, Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nicknames in ...

defected from Afghanistan to

Air Base, Pakistan. * On July 3, 1989, Captain Mohammed Hamid flying a

Mi-25 The Mil Mi-24 (; NATO reporting name: Hind) is a large helicopter gunship, attack helicopter and low-capacity transport helicopter, troop transport with room for eight passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and was introduced ...

defected from Afghanistan to Kica Air Base, Pakistan. * On July 6, 1989, Afghan Air Force Captain Jan Pahrand defected to Pakistan with his Su-22M-4K fighter-bomber.

Algeria

* On June 17, 1998, Captain Alili Messaoud flew his

Mi-8 The Mil Mi-8 (, NATO reporting name: Hip) is a medium twin-turbine helicopter, originally designed by the Soviet Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI) in the 1960s and introduced into the Soviet Air Force in 1968. Russian production of t ...

helicopter from

Blida Blida () is a city in Algeria. It is the capital of Blida Province, and it is located about 45 km south-west of Algiers, the national capital. The name ''Blida'', i.e. ''bulaydah'', is a diminutive of the Arabic word ''belda'', city. Ge ...

Air Force Base, southwest of

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

, first to

Formentera Formentera (, ) is a Spanish island located in the Mediterranean Sea, which belongs to the Balearic Islands autonomous community (Spain) together with Mallorca, Menorca, and Ibiza. Formentera is the smallest and most southerly island of the ...

island and then to

Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, getting away from the

Algerian Civil War The Algerian Civil War (), known in Algeria as the Black Decade (, ), was a civil war fought between the Algerian government and various Islamist rebel groups from 11 January 1992 (following a 1992 Algerian coup d'état, coup negating an Islami ...

(1992–2002). The helicopter was subsequently returned to

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

while the pilot asked for political asylum that was not granted because of Algerian pressures, however he was granted a resident visa each year continuing to the present.

China

A number of defections occurred from the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, with most of its pilots defecting to the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

(

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

). These include: *On January 12, 1960, the first

PLA Pla may refer to: People * Cecilio Plá (1860–1934), Spanish painter * Conrad Pla (born 1966), Canadian kickboxer and actor * Jim Pla (born 1992), French racing driver * Joan Baptista Pla (ca. 1720–1773), Spanish composer and oboist * Josefina ...

defection occurred. Yang Decai, a

PLANAF The People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force (PLANAF; zh, c=中国人民解放军海军航空兵, p = Zhōngguó Rénmín Jiěfàngjūn Hǎijūn Hángkōngbīng) is the naval aviation branch of the People's Liberation Army Navy. History Histor ...

pilot from the 4th Fighter Division flew a

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of the first successful jet fighters to incorporate s ...

with serial number 6501 from Luqiao air base to

Yilan County, Taiwan Yilan, alternately spelled I-lan, is a County (Taiwan), county in northeastern Taiwan. Yilan is the northernmost county on the island of Taiwan, with a population of 450,031. Its seat is located in Yilan City. Before the Han Chinese Wu Sha led ...

. However, Yang was killed when his aircraft crashed on landing. *On September 15, 1961,

PLAAF The People's Liberation Army Air Force, also referred to as the Chinese Air Force () or the People's Air Force (), is the primary aerial warfare service of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAAF controls most of the PLA's air assets, includi ...

pilots Shao Xiyan and Gao Youzong flew an

Antonov An-2 The Antonov An-2 (USAF/DoD reporting name Type 22, NATO reporting name Colt) is a Soviet Union, Soviet mass-produced single-engine biplane utility/agricultural aircraft designed and manufactured by the Antonov Design Bureau beginning in 1947. I ...

from Ji'ao county,

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

to Jeju-do and reached Taiwan on October 7, 1961. Both pilots were personally interviewed by Chiang Kai-shek and rewarded 500

tael Tael ( ),"Tael" entry
at the

kg) of

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

. Both pilots served in the

Republic of China Air Force The Republic of China Air Force ( Chinese, 中華民國空軍), or the ROCAF; known colloquially as the Taiwanese Air Force ( Chinese, 臺灣空軍) by Western or mainland Chinese media, or commonly referred as the National Military Air Force ...

and retired with ranks of colonel, and Shao eventually emigrated to the United States. *On March 3, 1962, Liu Chengsi, a PLANAF pilot of the 8th squadron of the 3rd

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

of the 16th regiment flew a

from Luqiao air base in

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

Taoyuan County, Taiwan Taoyuan () is a special municipality located in northwestern Taiwan, neighboring New Taipei City to the north-east, Yilan County to the south-east, and Hsinchu County to the south-west. Taoyuan District is the seat of the municipal gover ...

(now Taoyuan City). Liu was rewarded 1,000 taels (approximately 50 kg) of gold, and the position of deputy director of a Republic of China Air Force

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

. He was honorably discharged with a rank of colonel. EX-PRCAF IL-28 0195 in Military Airplanes Display Area 20111015

*On November 11, 1965, Li Xianbin, a PLAAF

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Ilyushin Il-28 The Ilyushin Il-28 (; NATO reporting name: Beagle) is a jet bomber of the immediate postwar period that was originally manufactured for the Soviet Air Forces. It was the Soviet Union's first such aircraft to enter large-scale production. It was ...

of the 8th division flew his

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...

numbered 0195 from Jianqiao air base in

Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...

(now Taoyuan City); this was the first fully operational Il-28 in western hands. The radio operator / tail gunner Lian Baosheng was found dead at the scene and the navigator Li Caiwang was captured alive after a

suicide attempt A suicide attempt is an act in which an individual tries to kill themselves but survives. Mental health professionals discourage describing suicide attempts as "failed" or "unsuccessful", as doing so may imply that a suicide resulting in death is ...

. Both survivors were honored and rewarded positions in the Republic of China Air Force. Li Xianbin was rewarded 2,000 taels (approximately 100 kg) of gold, while Li Caiwang was rewarded 1,000 taels (approximately 50 kg) of gold. Since Lian Baosheng was dead, his reward of 1,000 taels (approximately 50 kg) of gold was divided evenly among Li Xianbin and Li Caiwang. **Li Xianbin made headlines in Taiwan years later when he demanded all of the rewards because of what he claimed was his unfair treatment by Taiwan. Li Xianbin claimed that he was the sole defector, and the other two were actually captured due to his defection, a fact that was later agreed by both Taiwan and the navigator Li Caiwang himself. Li Xianbin claimed that for the purpose of political propaganda, all the crew were honored as defectors, which was far from the truth, but he was not successful in getting all of the gold reward. After he was honorably discharged as colonel from the Republic of China Air Force, Li Xianbin obtained Canadian residency. He made headlines again in 1992 when he returned to China via Canada after he learned that his mother was about to die. After his return to

Qingdao Qingdao, Mandarin: , (Qingdao Mandarin: t͡ɕʰiŋ˧˩ tɒ˥) is a prefecture-level city in the eastern Shandong Province of China. Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, Qingdao was long an important fortress. In 1897, the city was ceded to G ...

in October 1992, he was eventually arrested by the local Public Security Bureau when he was on his way to the airport for his return trip to Canada. Li Xianbin was first sentenced to 15 years but this was later reduced to 10, and the sentence was further reduced drastically because it was discovered that he had

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a malignant tumor of the stomach. It is a cancer that develops in the Gastric mucosa, lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a numb ...

that was in its terminal stage. He was released early and died shortly after his release. Many elements of the

Chinese democracy movement Democracy movements in the People's Republic of China are a series of organized political movements, inside and outside of the country, addressing a variety of grievances, including objections to socialist bureaucratism and objections to the ...

first accused the Chinese government of inhumanity for not allowing Li Xianbin to go back to China to visit his dying mother, and then accused the Chinese government of trying to repatriate him to either Taiwan or Canada because the regime did not want to foot the bill for his treatment, since he did not have his assets transferred to China. **Li Caiwang, the navigator of the Il-28, was seriously wounded by Li Xianbin during the latter's defection and was forced to accept his fate after he survived his suicide attempt. During his stay in the hospital for the gunshot he received in the shoulder, the nurse who took care of him fell in love with him and told him that she was also responsible to perform surveillance on him, under the order of the

government. The two eventually married and moved into the nurse's home, but were still under constant surveillance: a major general of the Republic of China military had a son who was going to a school near the couple's home, so he rented a room at their residence for years to keep Li Caiwang under surveillance. Although the major general and his son finally moved out, Li Caiwang had no intention of staying in Taiwan, and since the wife's sister was married to an American, Li Caiwang and his wife immigrated to the United States in 1972 after his honorable discharge from the Republic of China Air Force as a colonel. The couple became naturalized citizens of the United States in 1979. In 1982, Chinese diplomats contacted Li Caiwang in the United States and got his side of the story, and after a prolonged investigation, the Chinese government rehabilitated him in 1984. After several visits to China in the 1990s, Li Caiwang eventually resettled in China in 1998. *On July 7, 1977, Fan Yuanye, a PLAAF pilot flew his

Shenyang J-6 The Shenyang J-6 (wikt:歼, Chinese: 歼-6; designated F-6 for export versions; NATO reporting name: Farmer) is the Chinese version of the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19, MiG-19 'Farmer' fighter, the world's first mass-produced supersonic airc ...

numbered 3171 from Jinjiang to an air base in

Tainan Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in southern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and commonly called the "Taiwan Prefecture, ...

, and was rewarded a rank of lieutenant colonel in the Republic of China Air Force. After his honorable discharge from the Republic of China Air Force, Fan joined an investment firm with his money and obtained American green card, but he stayed primarily in Taiwan to handle his investments. *On April 15, 1979, Yan Wenchang, a distinguished PLAAF pilot who earned numerous awards for his excellent performance in support of the

Sino-Vietnamese War The Sino-Vietnamese War (also known by other names) was a brief conflict that occurred in early 1979 between China and Vietnam. China launched an offensive ostensibly in response to Vietnam's invasion and occupation of Cambodia in 1978, whi ...

, was extremely bitter after learning that the promotion for the deputy squadron

commissar Commissar (or sometimes ''Kommissar'') is an English transliteration of the Russian (''komissar''), which means ' commissary'. In English, the transliteration ''commissar'' often refers specifically to the political commissars of Soviet and ...

was given to somebody else instead of him. Yan felt he was the better candidate and should get the promotion and he was under appreciated, and as a result, he decided to defect to

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

after learning that the opportunity would be gone because his unit would soon be redeployed to

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

, and the only thing he left was a note to his wife that read:''I'll be gone, good-bye forever!. However, Vietnam did not react at all to his attempts for contacts after his

entered Vietnam from

Guangxi Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam (Hà Giang Province, Hà Giang, Cao Bằn ...

, and as result, Yan was killed after directly crashing into a 1,000 metre high mountains cliff approximately 80 km south of

Haiphong Haiphong or Hai Phong (, ) is the third-largest city in Vietnam and is the principal port city of the Red River Delta. The municipality has an area of , consisting of 8 urban districts, 6 rural districts and 1 municipal city (sub-city). Two o ...

. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Vietnam the next day that the incident was a navigational error and asked for the return of the remains of the pilot and the jet, but Vietnam refused, and instead, asked Soviet investigators to inspect the wreckage.

KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...

aviation experts discovered that the avionics of Yan's J-6 was extremely rudimentary even by Soviet standard, and was indeed lacking any effective navigational avionics. Furthermore, the communication on the J-6 was not encrypted, and it could be intercepted by advanced civilian radios on the market. Since Yan was a regular pilot that patrolled the airspace within the 10 km of the Sino-Vietnamese border (sometimes as frequent as 4 times a day), his defection was not detected until his crash. *On August 7, 1983, Sun Tianqin, a former PLANAF pilot who had just transferred to PLAAF several months ago to become a

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

, flew a J-7II numbered 045 from

Dalian Dalian ( ) is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China (after Shenyang ...

Seoul Air Base Seoul Air Base (sometimes K-16 Air Base, Seoul Airport or Seongnam Air Base) is located in Seongnam city near Seoul in South Korea. Runway 19 and 20 are equipped with an Instrument landing system, ILS. History It was constructed when Korea unde ...

in South Korea. Sun was rewarded a rank of colonel in the Republic of China Air Force and 7,000 taels (approximately 350 kg) of gold, the highest ever recorded. In January 1985, Sun married Li Tianhui, a Chinese musician who also defected to Taiwan, and the pair eventually immigrated to Canada after Sun's honorable discharge from the Republic of China Air Force. *On November 14, 1983, Wang Xuecheng, a 25-year-old PLANAF squadron commander of the 2nd

of the 18th regiment of the 6th division flew a

Shenyang J-5 The Shenyang J-5 ( Chinese: 歼-5) (NATO reporting name ''Fresco'') is a Chinese-built single-seat jet interceptor and fighter aircraft derived from the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17. The J-5 was exported as the F-5 and was originally designat ...

numbered 83065 from Daishan,

to Taiwan, and under the escort of two

F-5E The Northrop F-5 is a family of supersonic light fighter aircraft initially designed as a privately funded project in the late 1950s by Northrop Corporation. There are two main models: the original F-5A and F-5B Freedom Fighter variants, and th ...

's, successfully landed at

Chiang Kai-shek International Airport Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (Traditional Chinese: 臺灣桃園國際機場) is the main international airport serving Taiwan, particularly the northern region and Taipei. Located in Dayuan District, Dayuan, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Taoyuan, ...

. Wang was rewarded a rank of major in Republic of China Air Force and 3,000 taels (approximately 150 kg) of gold. After a divorce, Wang married a local Taiwanese woman and fathered two daughters and a son. Wang still talks to his family members in

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

via telephone, and refuses to immigrate abroad like most other Chinese defectors did. *On August 25, 1985, a PLAAF deputy

commander Xiao Tianrun, flew an

from Ji'ao county,

to Iri (now

Iksan Iksan (; ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city and major railway junction in North Jeolla Province, South Korea. The city center and railway junction was formerly called "Iri" (), but merged with Iksan County (''Iksan-gun'') in 19 ...

), and during emergency landing in the field, the navigator Sun Wuchun was killed, along with a South Korean citizen on the ground. The radio operator / tail gunner Liu Shuyi refused to defect and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

returned him to China along with the ashes of Sun Wuchun. On September 20, 1985, Xiao reached Taiwan and was awarded 3,000 taels (approximately 150 kg) of gold and a rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in the Republic of China Air Force. Xiao Tianrun left two copies of his declaration against communism in China and requested one of the copies to be sent to

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping also Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Teng Hsiao-p'ing; born Xiansheng (). (22 August 190419 February 1997) was a Chinese statesman, revolutionary, and political theorist who served as the paramount leader of the People's R ...

. Xiao was personally interviewed by

Chiang Ching-kuo Chiang Ching-kuo (, 27 April 1910 – 13 January 1988) was a politician of the Republic of China. The eldest and only biological son of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, he held numerous posts in the government of the Republic of China and ended ...

and appeared on the Republic of China national day celebration parade in October of the same year. Xiao later married Taiwanese TV reporter Chang Te-fung, who helped Xiao greatly in his investment in Taiwanese stock market, but the pair were eventually divorced. *On February 21, 1986, Chen Baozhong, 26, a squadron commander of the 3rd wing of the PLAAF 4th aerial reconnaissance regiment flew a reconnaissance version of

numbered 3283 from

Shenyang Shenyang,; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly known as Fengtian formerly known by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a sub-provincial city in China and the list of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Liaonin ...

airport to

Suwon Air Base Suwon Air Base is a Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) base near Suwon city. Units The base is home to the ROKAF's 10th Fighter Wing (제10전투비행단), comprising: *101st Fighter Squadron flying KF-5E/KF-5F/F-5F *153rd Fighter Squadron f ...

, South Korea, abandoning a training exercise. Chen reached Taiwan on April 30, 1986, and was awarded 5,000 taels (approximately 250 kg) of gold. Little is known about Chen after his honorable discharge from the Republic of China Air Force. *On October 24, 1986, PLAAF pilot Zheng Caitian flew his

from

Yantai Yantai, formerly known as Chefoo, is a coastal prefecture-level city on the Shandong Peninsula in northeastern Shandong province of the People's Republic of China. Lying on the southern coast of the Bohai Strait, Yantai borders Qingdao ...

to Seoul Air Base and when he reached Taiwan, he was awarded 5,000 taels (approximately 250 kg) of gold. Among the Chinese defecting pilots, Zheng has had the harshest life of all, because he invested in an electronic factory that went bankrupt, and lost all of his money in his subsequent investments. *On November 19, 1987, Liu Zhiyuan, a squadron commander of PLAAF 49th division flew his

numbered 40208 from Longxi airport,

Zhangzhou Zhangzhou (, ) is a prefecture-level city in Fujian Province, China. The prefecture around the city proper comprises the southeast corner of the province, facing the Taiwan Strait and (with Quanzhou) surrounding the prefecture of Xiamen. Nam ...

Ching Chuan Kang Air Base Ching Chuan Kang Air Base ( zh, t=清泉崗空軍基地, CCK) is a Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF) base located in Taichung, Taiwan. It is the home to the 3rd Tactical Fighter Wing, with three squadrons of AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-kuo f ...

Taichung Taichung (, Wade–Giles: '), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in central Taiwan. Taichung is Taiwan's second-largest city, with more than 2.85 million residents, making it the largest city in Ce ...

and was awarded 5,000 taels (approximately 250 kg) of gold. Liu invested heavily in the Taiwanese stock market and his assets (not including the gold rewarded to him) were once more than 10 million

New Taiwan dollar The New Taiwan dollar (code: TWD; symbol: NT$, also abbreviated as NT), or simply the Taiwan dollar, is the official currency of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Usually, the $ sign precedes the amount, but NT$ is used to distinguish from othe ...

s (approximately 400,000 United States dollars). *On September 6, 1989, Jiang Wenhao, a 23-year-old PLAAF lieutenant of the 2nd

of the 145th regiment of the 49th division flew a

numbered 40307 from Longxi airport,

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

Kinmen Kinmen, alternatively known as Quemoy, is a group of islands governed as a county by the Republic of China (Taiwan), only east from the city of Xiamen in Fujian, located at the southeastern coast of the People's Republic of China, from wh ...

Shang Yi Airport. Jiang was interviewed by the then chief-of-general-staff of Taiwanese armed forces,

Hau Pei-tsun Hau Pei-tsun ( zh, c=郝柏村, p=Hǎo Bócūn, 8 August 1919 – 30 March 2020) was a Chinese politician and military officer who was the Premier of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1 June 1990 to 27 February 1993, and the longest-serving Chi ...

and awarded a rank of lieutenant in the Republic of China Air Force. Jiang's financial reward, however, was reduced to 2,000 taels (approximately 100 kg) of gold from the original 5,000 taels (approximately 250 kg), because due to the reduction of tensions with China during the 1980s, Taiwan had greatly reduced the amount on September 15, 1988, in response to similar Chinese action four days earlier. (China had completely abolished any financial rewards to any Taiwanese defectors). Jiang was soon honorably discharged from the Republic of China Air Force after being promoted to captain. Jiang became a famed underwater photographer and won several awards, and he also worked as a diving instructor. *On August 25, 1990, Wang Baoyu, a squadron commander of the 62 Air Regiment of the 21st PLAAF Air Division, defected to former USSR by flying his

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...

after taking off from Jiaohe military airport in

Mudanjiang Mudanjiang (; Manchu language, Manchu: ''Mudan bira''), postal romanization, alternately romanized as Mutankiang, is a prefecture-level city in the southeast part of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China. It was called ''Botankou'' un ...

(not to be confused by the city of Jiaohe and the civilian

Mudanjiang Airport Mudanjiang Hailang International Airport is an airport serving the city of Mudanjiang in Heilongjiang Province, China. Airlines and destinations See also *List of airports in China This is a list of public airports in the People's R ...

at Mudangjiang). A week later, he was turned over to China along with the aircraft (according to the Soviet eyewitness of the extradition procedure, Wang was severely beaten by Chinese escort detail officers as soon as they got him from the Soviets,) and Wang Baoyu was subsequently sentenced to death, although his sentence was commuted to life in prison. The

condemned the Soviet act of returning the pilot back to China. Several high-ranking Soviet Air Defense commanders lost their jobs as a result of this defection, because Wang Baoyu was not detected until he had landed. Note: Rewards paid in taels have been converted to mass at a rate of per "new market tael".

Cuba

*On 4 September 1962, a Cuban pilot-instructor Jose Diaz Vasquez defected with a Zlin 326 Master-Trainer and landed at

Key West Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...

, US. His trainee, Edel Ramirez Santos asked to return home. *On March 20, 1964, a

Mil Mi-4 The Mil Mi-4 (USAF/DoD reporting name "Type 36", NATO reporting name "Hound")'' Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1963-1964'', p. 303 is a Soviet transport helicopter that served in both military and civilian roles. Design and development The Mi ...

was hijacked by crew members Guillermo Santos and Andres Izaguirre who shot dead the commander of the helicopter, Jose Garcia, and changed the course of the flight in the direction of

Naval Air Station Key West Naval Air Station Key West , is a naval air station and military airport located on Boca Chica Key, four miles (6 km) east of the central business district of Key West, Florida, United States., effective 2007-10-25 NAS Key West is an ai ...

, where they ultimately landed. *On 5 October 1969, a Cuban pilot, Lieut. Eduardo Guerra Jimenez defected with his

MiG-17 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (; NATO reporting name: Fresco) is a high-subsonic fighter aircraft produced in the Soviet Union from 1952 and was operated by air forces internationally. The MiG-17 was license-built in China as the Shenyang J-5 an ...

Homestead Air Force Base Homestead Air Reserve Base (Homestead ARB), previously known as Homestead Air Force Base (Homestead AFB) is located in Miami–Dade County, Florida, to the northeast of the city of Homestead. It is home to the 482nd Fighter Wing (482 FW) o ...

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. The plane was returned to the Cubans. Separately on June 12, 1979, ten years later, the same pilot hijacked Delta Air Lines Flight 1061 back to Havana. *On May 28, 1987, Cuban Brigadier General

Rafael Del Pino Díaz Rafael may refer to: * Rafael (given name) or Raphael, a name of Hebrew origin * Rafael, California Fiction * ''Rafael'' (TV series), a Mexican telenovela * ''Rafaël'' (film), a 2018 Dutch film People * Rafael (footballer, born 1978) ( ...

defected to the United States in a

Cessna 402 The Cessna 401 and 402 are a series of 6 to 10 seat, light twin-piston engine aircraft.Montgomery, MR & Gerald Foster: ''A Field Guide to Airplanes, Second Edition'', page 108. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992. All seats are easily removable so ...

airplane of Aerocaribbean, with his third wife, his daughter, and his son Ramsés, an ex-

MiG-23 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (; NATO reporting name: Flogger) is a variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-generation jet fighter, alongside similar Soviet aircra ...

pilot. Del Pino Díaz remains the highest-ranking Cuban defector. *On March 20, 1991, Cuban

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Orestes Lorenzo Pérez defected in his

BN to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

on a training mission of the

Cuban Air Force The Cuban Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force () commonly abbreviated to DAAFAR in both Spanish and English, is the air force of Cuba. History Background The Cuban Army Air Force was the air force of Cuba that existed prior to 1959. The a ...

. The plane was returned to the Cuban Air Force. On December 19, 1992, he returned to Cuba in a small, twin-engined 1961

Cessna 310 The Cessna 310 is an American four-to-six-seat, low-wing, twin-engine monoplane produced by Cessna between 1954 and 1980. It was the second twin-engine aircraft that Cessna put into production; the first was the Cessna T-50. It was used by the ...

, landing on the coastal highway of El Mamey beach in

Varadero Varadero (), also referred to as ''Playa Azul'' (Blue Beach), is a resort town in the province of Matanzas, Cuba, and one of the largest resort areas in the Caribbean. Varadero Beach is rated one of the world's best beaches in TripAdvisor's Travel ...

Matanzas Province Matanzas () is one of the provinces of Cuba. Major towns in the province include Cárdenas, Colón, Jovellanos and the capital of the same name, Matanzas. The resort town of Varadero is also located in this province. Among Cuban provinces, ...

, 93 miles (149.6 km.), from

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Marathon, Florida Marathon is a city in the middle of the Florida Keys, in Monroe County, Florida, Monroe County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 9,689, up from 8,297 in 2010 United States ce ...

*On September 17, 1993, Cuban Captain Enio Ravelo Rodriguez, defected in his

. *On September 23, 1993, Capt. Leonidas Basulto Serrano defected with his MiG-23 fighter to the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay.

Czechoslovakia

* In 1953, Mira Slovak, a pilot for

Czechoslovak Airlines Czech Airlines (abbreviation: ČSA, ) is a Czech aviation brand and privately held holding company. Between 1923 and 2024, it operated as an independent airline and served as the flag carrier of the Czech Republic. Czech Airlines ended its own fl ...

, was flying a regularly scheduled flight from

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

. While en route, he overpowered the co-pilot, locked the cockpit door and dove the plane to below 1,000 feet. He flew the plane to

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, where he requested and received asylum. He later went to the United States, where he flew various aircraft, raced boats, and was a pilot for

Continental Airlines Continental Airlines (simply known as Continental) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1934 until it merged with United Airlines in 2012. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continen ...

. * In 1971,

stunt pilot Stunt flying refers to any stunts performed in an aircraft. It encompasses aerobatics, wing walking, and transferring from one airplane to another or to a moving vehicle on the ground, such as an automobile or train, and vice versa. History From t ...

Ladislav Bezák Ladislav Bezák (1932 – November 2018) was a Czechoslovak aerobatic pilot, the first winner of the FAI World Aerobatic Championships in 1960, and first to win the Biancotto Trophy in 1965. In 1971, he defected by flying to West Germany. He loa ...

a winner of the

FAI World Aerobatic Championships The FAI World Aerobatic Championships (WAC) is a competition in sport aviation organized by CIVA (Commission Internationale de Voltige Arienne), the aerobatic commission of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, the world air sports federat ...

in 1960 defected by flying to West Germany. He brought his wife and four sons along in a Zlin 226 that took off in Prague and landed in Nuremberg, where all six were awarded political asylum by West Germany.

Dominican Republic

*In April 1959, Captain Juan de Dios Ventura Simó defected from the

Dominican Air Force The Air Force of the Dominican Republic (), is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Dominican Republic, together with the Army and the Navy. History At the end of the United States occupation of the Dominican Republic, whic ...

in a

de Havilland Vampire The de Havilland DH100 Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force, RAF, after the Gloster Meteo ...

jet. He first flew to

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

in order to ask for political asylum in the United States, but soon left the country to join a group of Dominican exiles in

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. In June 1959, they organized a Cuban-backed guerrilla campaign against Trujillo in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

, but were quickly overwhelmed by Trujillo's superior military force. Ventura Simó, one of the few survivors, was captured and tortured by Trujillo's men, who organized a disinformation campaign against the opposition by claiming that Ventura Simó was not a real defector but a government spy who had led the rebels to their ruin. Once Ventura Simó was no longer useful, he was killed in prison and put on a plane which crashed at sea in order to frame the death as an aviation accident.

Egypt

*On January 19, 1964,

Egyptian Air Force The Egyptian Air Force (EAF) () is the aviation branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces that is responsible for all airborne defence missions and operates all military aircraft, including those used in support of the Egyptian Army, Egyptian Navy ...

pilot Mahmud Abbas Hilmi defected from el-Arish Air Base to Hatzor Air Base in Israel in his

Yakovlev Yak-11 The Yakovlev Yak-11 (; NATO reporting name: "Moose") is a trainer aircraft used by the Soviet Air Force and other Soviet-influenced air forces from 1947 in aviation, 1947 until 1962 in aviation, 1962. Design and development The Yakovlev, Yakovl ...

trainer.

Ethiopia

* In 1976, two Ethiopian pilots defected to

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

by flying their

Northrop F-5 The Northrop F-5 is a family of supersonic light fighter aircraft initially designed as a privately funded project in the late 1950s by Northrop Corporation. There are two main models: the original F-5A and F-5B Freedom Fighter variants, and th ...

A fighters to

Kassala Kassala (, ) is the capital of the state of Kassala (state), Kassala in eastern Sudan. In 2003 its population was recorded to be 530,950. Built on the banks of the Mareb River, Gash River, it is a market city and is famous for its fruit gardens. ...

; the jets were returned to Ethiopia. * In 1977,

Ethiopian Air Force The Ethiopian Air Force (ETAF) () is the air service branch of the Ethiopian National Defence Force. The ETAF is tasked with protecting the national air space, providing support to ground forces, as well as assisting civil operations during wa ...

pilot Major Afeworki Mekonnen defected to

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

with his

English Electric Canberra The English Electric Canberra is a British first-generation, jet-powered medium bomber. It was developed by English Electric during the mid- to late 1940s in response to a 1944 Air Ministry requirement for a successor to the wartime de Havilla ...

bomber. The incident took place during the

Ogaden War The Ogaden War, also known as the Ethio-Somali War (, ), was a military conflict between Somali Democratic Republic, Somalia and derg, Ethiopia fought from July 1977 to March 1978 over control of the sovereignty of the Ogaden region. Somalia ...

. * Throughout the 1980s and early 90s (up to 1991), several Ethiopian pilots defected with their planes to Sudan and Yemen. * On 26 May 1991, the pilots of seven

s, an L-39, two

An-12 The Antonov An-12 (Russian language, Russian: Антонов Ан-12; NATO reporting name: Cub) is a four-engined turboprop Cargo aircraft, transport aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. It is the military version of the Antonov An-10 and has ...

s, three

s and three

Mi-35 The Soviet and later Russian Mil Mi-24 helicopter has been produced in many variants, as described below. History In 1966, Soviet aircraft designer Mikhail Mil created a mock-up design of a new helicopter (derived from the Mil Mi-8) which was ...

s defected from Ethiopia to

Djibouti Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area ...

after the fall of the Mengistu government. The aircraft were all returned to Ethiopia on August 8.

East Germany

*On March 7, 1969,

East German Air Force The Air Forces of the National People's Army ( [], ) was the air force of East Germany. As with the , the , and the Border Troops of the German Democratic Republic, Border Troops, it was a military branch of the National People's Army (NVA). A ...

JG-1 pilot Hauptmann Gerhard Scharnetzki flew from Cottbus Air Base to

Rønne Airport Bornholm Airport () is a Denmark, Danish airport located 2.7 nautical miles (5 km) southeast of Rønne, on the island of Bornholm. The airport is operated by Statens Luftfartsvæsen (''The Danish Civil Aviation Administration'') with the air ...

on Danish

Bornholm Bornholm () is a List of islands of Denmark, Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland. Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. I ...

Island in a

Yak-18 The Yakovlev Yak-18 (; NATO reporting name Max) is a tandem two-seat military primary trainer aircraft manufactured in the Soviet Union. Originally powered by one 119 kW (160 hp) Shvetsov M-11FR-1 radial piston engine, it entered se ...

A trainer plane numbered 11. * 1-MIG 17 -01A

On May 26, 1967,

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

Vasily Ilych Epatko flew his

(No. 25) from East Germany, where he was stationed, to West Germany and made a successful belly-landing in a field near Kicklingen, Bavaria. It was almost immediately photographed by a Canadian CF-104 RECCE aircraft from 1Wing, Lahr, Germany. He was granted asylum by the United States.

West Germany

*On April 1, 1971, West German Army Aviation cadet-pilot Corporal Hans-Dieter Reinkensmeier defected in a small

Cessna 172 The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is an American four-seat, single-engine, high wing, fixed-wing aircraft made by the Cessna Aircraft Company.Greek Air Force The Hellenic Air Force (HAF; , sometimes abbreviated as ΠΑ) is the air force of Greece (''Hellenic'' being the endonym for ''Greek'' in the Greek language). It is considered to be one of the largest air forces in NATO, and is globally placed 1 ...

C-47 The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II. During the war the C-47 was used for troo ...

crossed into Soviet airspace in the area of

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

in order to defect. The pilot of a

Su-15 The Sukhoi Su-15 (NATO reporting name: Flagon) is a twinjet supersonic interceptor aircraft developed by the Soviet Union. It entered service in 1965 and remained one of the front-line designs into the 1990s. The Su-15 was designed to replace t ...

flew up alongside and rocked his wings, signaling "follow me". The C-47 complied and landed at Bel'bek airbase. The Greek pilot, Captain Mikhalis Maniatakis, had stolen the aircraft from

Chania Chania (, , ), also sometimes romanization of Greek, romanized as Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno ...

airbase on

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

to flee from junta-controlled

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. Maniatakis requested political asylum in the USSR. * On 25 November 1973 A Greek Air Force Lieutenant-Colonel Dimitrios Zelios landed at

Brindisi Airport Brindisi Airport (), also known as ''Brindisi Papola Casale Airport'' and ''Salento Airport'', is an airport in Brindisi, in southern Italy, located from the city centre. History Foundation and early years This airport was originally establish ...

in southwest Italy and asked for political asylum.

Hungary

* In August 1969 a

Hungarian Air Force The Hungarian Air Force (, ), is the air force branch of the Hungarian Defence Forces. The primary focus of the present Hungarian Air Force lies in defensive operations. The flying units operate are organised into a single command; under the A ...

pilot, Maj. József Bíró defected with his

MiG-15 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of the first successful jet fighters to incorporate s ...

from

Taszár Air Base Taszár Air Base is a military air base located near Taszár, Somogy County, Hungary. It is east of Kaposvár. It became the primary staging post for peacekeeping forces coming and going into the Balkans in December of 1995 becoming NATO's firs ...

, Hungary, to Udine, Italy. The military tribunal stripped his rank, and sentenced to death in absentia for high treason. * On April 7. 1970 a Hungarian Air Force pilot, 1st Lt. Sándor Zoboki defected with his

(serial number 907) from

, Hungary, to Udine, Italy. In the same year the military tribunal stripped his rank, and sentenced to death in absentia for high treason.

Israel

* On 13 July 1990, at 4:30 a.m., 33-year-old Captain Haggai Mori, set out from

Sde Dov Airport Sde Dov Airport (, ''lit.'' Dov Field, ), also known as Dov Hoz Airport (, ''Nemal HaTe'ufa Dov Hoz'', ) was an airport in Tel Aviv, Israel that mainly handled scheduled domestic flights to Eilat, northern Israel (Haifa, the Galilee, and the G ...

without permission with a

Dornier Do 28 Dornier Do 28 is a type designation that comprises two different twin-engine STOL utility aircraft, manufactured by German company Dornier GmbH, Dornier Flugzeugbau GmbH. Most of them served with the German Air Force and ''Marineflieger'' and othe ...

plane and attempted flight to Syria. According to Arab sources, the enemy plane was met by

Syrian Air Force The Syrian Air Force () is the air force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It was established in 1948, and first saw action in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Under Ba'athist Syria until December 8, 2024, it was known as the Syrian Arab Air Forc ...

fighter planes and driven off from Syrian airspace. After this, Mori committed suicide. The wreckage of the missing plane was found on the western slopes of the

Golan Heights The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in t ...

, near the Syrian border. According to Israeli sources, it was assumed to have been a suicide attempt alone and not a defection.

Iran

*On 16 October 1982, Iranian defector Keyhan Jahanfakhr, a commercial airline pilot, asked for political asylum after landing his

Iran Air Iran Air, officially known as The Airline of the Islamic Republic of Iran (), or before known as The National Airline of Iran (), is the flag carrier of Iran, which is headquartered at Mehrabad Airport in Tehran. As of 2024, it operates sched ...

Boeing 727 The Boeing 727 is an American Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavier Boeing 707, 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter ...

for a stopover in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. *On 10 July 1983, Iranian defector Captain Iraj Fazeli landed a US-made

F-5E Tiger II The Northrop F-5 is a family of supersonic light fighter aircraft initially designed as a privately funded project in the late 1950s by Northrop Corporation. There are two main models: the original F-5A and F-5B Freedom Fighter variants, and t ...

jet at an airport in

Van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. There is some variation in the scope of the word across the different English-speaking countries. The smallest vans, microvans, are used for transporting either goods or ...

, one of Turkey's easternmost provinces bordering Iran. The aircraft belonged to TFB.2 at

Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

. *In early 1984, Iranian defectors flew an F-5E to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

(the pilot returned to Iran several years later). In both of these cases, the jets were back in Iran a few weeks later. *On 30 August 1984, Iranian pilot Captain Rahman Nageeb defected in his F-4E Phantom II serial 3–6552 to Iraq, and his RIO became a

POW POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...

who was later released with other prisoners. *On 21 July 1985, Iranian pilot Mehdi Babaie and two airmen flew their US-made

Boeing CH-47 Chinook The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem-rotor helicopter originally developed by American rotorcraft company Piasecki Helicopter, Vertol and now manufactured by Boeing Defense, Space & Security. The Chinook is a Military transport helicopter, heav ...

helicopter serial 5–4089 to Iraq. *On 31 August 1986 an Iranian top-line

F-14A Tomcat The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic aircraft, supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, Tandem#Aviation, tandem two-seat, twin-tail, all-weather-capable variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for t ...

fighter armed with at least one

AIM-54 The AIM-54 Phoenix is an American active radar-guided, beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (AAM), carried in clusters of up to six missiles on the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, its only operational launch platform. The AIM-54 Phoenix was the United S ...

A landed in Iraq. An Iraqi military spokesman identified the pilot and

weapon systems officer A Weapon Systems Officer (WSO), nicknamed "Wizzo", is an air flight officer directly involved in all air operations and weapon systems of a military aircraft. Historically, aircrew duties in military aircraft were highly specialised and rigi ...

(WSO) as Major Ahmed Murad Talibi and Captain Hassan Nagafi Habibullah. Upon landing, the aircraft was surrounded by up to 20 US technicians, who took care of it and the defecting pilot, while the WSO, who had opposed the defection became an Iraqi POW, was later released with other prisoners (the pilot was later killed in Europe). The F-14A along with the aforementioned F-4E were flown to Saudi Arabia by US pilots. *On 2 September 1986, 2 Iranian F-4 Phantom and 1 F-14 Tomcat were hijacked to Iraq.

Iraq

*On April 2, 1960, Iraqi pilot Lt. Abbud Salim Hasan flew his British-made

Hawker Hunter The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet propulsion, jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly dev ...

to Syria, where he asked for political asylum, claiming to have escaped from Communist domination in the air force. *On November 30, 1963, Iraqi airman

Abdel Rahim al-Salim Zuher escaped to the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

by flying through

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and landing at an airfield in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

Azerbaijan SSR The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, also referred to as the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic, Azerbaijan SSR, Azerbaijani SSR, AzSSR, Soviet Azerbaijan or simply Azerbaijan, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union be ...

. He gave as reason for his defection an unwillingness to participate in the suppression of Kurdish rebels. The aircraft type in which he defected is not known but it may have been a

. The pilot was granted

political asylum The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (''asylum'' ), is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereignty, sovereign authority, such as a second country or ...

. *On 16 August 1966,

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

i Captain

Munir Redfa Captain Munir Redfa (, ), born Munir Habib Jamil Rufa (, ‎) (1934 – 1998) was an Iraqi fighter pilot. After Qasim's coup, Redfa was one of only five pilots the new regime trusted to continue serving with the sole Iraqi unit operating t ...

flew his

MiG-21F-13 This is a list of variants and specifications for variants of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21, which differed considerably between models. Variants All information in this section adapted from ''MiG-21'' (2008).Gordon, Yefim. ''Mikoyan MiG-21'' (Fam ...

to Israel as a result of

Mossad The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (), popularly known as Mossad ( , ), is the national intelligence agency of the Israel, State of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with M ...

Operation Diamond Operation Diamond (, ''Mivtza Yahalom'') was an operation undertaken by Mossad. Its goal was the acquisition of a Soviet-built Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21, the most advanced Soviet fighter plane at that time. The operation began in mid-1963 and ended ...

. Two years later, Israel gave his

and two

F to the United States for evaluation under the code-name '' HAVE DOUGHNUT'' (for the

), and '' HAVE DRILL'' (for the

). *Following Captain Munir Redfa's defection, there were at least two Iraqi pilots who defected to

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

with their

jets. Jordan granted them political asylum but returned the aircraft to Iraq. *On the early morning of 2 December 1981, an Iraqi pilot of the 84th Sqn defected with his

Vahdati Air Base Dezful Airport is located on Andimeshk road in the city of Dezful, Khuzestan province, Iran. Airlines and destinations Military Dezful Airport is also known as Vahdati Air Base, with military operations conducted by the Iran Air Force ...

in Iran. He managed to land safely, and subsequently proved to be a superb source of intelligence for the IRIAF. However, the plane was left in the open for several hours too long, and in the afternoon the

Iraqi Air Force The Iraqi Air Force (IQAF; ) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It is responsible for the defense of Iraqi airspace as well as the policing of its international borders. The IQAF also acts as a support force for t ...

dispatched a strike against the Iranian base destroying the aircraft with unguided 68mm rockets from Su-20 bombers. *During

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

in 1991, pilots of around 115 to 140 Iraqi military aircraft defected to Iran. Iran confiscated all of the planes.

Jordan

* On 12 November 1962, a pilot introduced as the commander in chief of the

Royal Jordanian Air Force The Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF; Arabic: سلاح الجو الملكي الأردني, ''Silāḥ al-Jaww al-Malakī al-ʾUrdunī'') is the aerial warfare branch of the Jordanian Armed Forces. Founded in 1955, the RJAF serves as the primary ...

Lt. Col. Sahl Mohamed Hamza defected to the

United Arab Republic The United Arab Republic (UAR; ) was a sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 to 1971. It was initially a short-lived political union between Republic of Egypt (1953–1958), Egypt (including Occupation of the Gaza Strip by the United Ara ...

in a

de Havilland Heron The de Havilland DH.114 Heron is a small Propeller (aircraft), propeller-driven British airliner that first flew on 10 May 1950. It was a development of the twin-engine de Havilland Dove, with a stretched fuselage and two more Reciprocating e ...

military transport plane. * On 13 November 1962, two Royal Jordanian Air Force pilots defected to the United Arab Republic with their

s (#804 & #810).

Laos

* On 16 March 1963, Lieutenant Chert Saibory defected flying his American-made

T-28 Trojan The North American Aviation T-28 Trojan is a radial-engine military trainer aircraft manufactured by North American Aviation and used by the United States Air Force and United States Navy beginning in the 1950s. Besides its use as a trainer, ...

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954 Geneva Conference, 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it o ...

. * On 10 March 1976, Sunthorn Mongkamsee of

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

landed his American-made Cessna L-19 light observation aircraft in

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. * On 24 August 1979, Laotian pilot Flight Lieutenant Chaisin Chinthenam flew his

C-47 Dakota The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II. During the war the C-47 was used for tro ...

into north eastern Thailand and asked for asylum.

Lebanon

* On 30 December 1987, during the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...

Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...

Lt. Majed Karamah of the

Lebanese Air Force The Lebanese Air Force (LAF) () is the aerial warfare branch of the Lebanese Armed Forces. The seal of the air force is a roundel with two wings and a Lebanese Cedar tree, surrounded by two laurel leaves on a blue background. History The Le ...

flew the French-made

Gazelle A gazelle is one of many antelope species in the genus ''Gazella'' . There are also seven species included in two further genera; '' Eudorcas'' and '' Nanger'', which were formerly considered subgenera of ''Gazella''. A third former subgenus, ' ...

helicopter from a military base north of

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

Shouf Chouf (also spelled Shouf, Shuf or Chuf; ) is a historic region of Lebanon, as well as an administrative district in the governorate ( muhafazat) of Mount Lebanon. Geography Located south-east of Beirut, the region comprises a narrow coastal stri ...

, and handed it to the pro-

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

n Druze militia.

Libya

* Shortly before the Egyptian–Libyan War (1977), a Libyan cadet pilot defected in small single-engine

SOCATA Rallye The SOCATA Rallye () is a light aircraft that was manufactured by French aviation company SOCATA. It was originally developed during the 1950s by French aircraft manufacturer Morane-Saulnier as the MS.880. On 10 June 1959, the prototype Rallye ...

by flying to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. * On 11 February 1981, a

Libyan Air Force The Libyan Air Force () is the branch of the Libyan Armed Forces responsible for aerial warfare. In 2010, before the Libyan Civil War, the Libyan Air Force personnel strength was estimated at 18,000, with an inventory of 374 combat-capable ai ...

Captain pilot flying a

defected from Libya by flying to

. The pilot claimed that the reason for his defection was the suspicion of his attempt to commandeer a

C-130 The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...

carrying 19

Libyan Army The Libyan Army () is the brand for a number of separate military forces in Libya, which were under the command of the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) and the Government of National Unity (GNU). Since December 20 ...

officers sentenced to death and fly them to Greece. The attempt failed, and sometime later, he became a suspect when Libyan military intelligence found out about his (failed) attempt. The pilot later graduated from

Yugoslav Air Force The Air Force and Air Defence ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Ратно ваздухопловство и противваздушна одбрана, Ratno vazduhoplovstvo i protivvazdušna odbrana ; abbr. sh-Cyrl-Latn, label=none, separator=/, РВ и ПВ� ...

Academy. The aircraft was later returned to Libya on February 14. * There were a number of defections to Egypt in 1987. First on March 2, a crew of five defected in a C-130 with two of the officers asking for political asylum. Then on March 29, three officers defected on a

CH-47 Chinook The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem-rotor helicopter originally developed by American rotorcraft company Piasecki Helicopter, Vertol and now manufactured by Boeing Defense, Space & Security. The Chinook is a Military transport helicopter, heav ...

, while finally on July 16 three more officers defected, this time in a

Mozambique

* On 8 July 1981 Lieutenant Adriano Francisco Bomba flew a

from

Maputo Maputo () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,088,449 (as of 2017) distributed ov ...

to over

Kruger National Park Kruger National Park () is a national park in South Africa covering an area of in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in the country's northeast. It extends from north to south and from east to west. The administrative headquarters are i ...

in South Africa, after which he was intercepted and escorted to land at

Air Force Base Hoedspruit Air Force Base Hoedspruit is an airbase of the South African Air Force. It is located adjacent to the Kruger National Park. In the late 1990s an unused portion of the base was converted into a civilian airport known as Eastgate Airport. It was ...

. On landing he asked for political asylum. The aircraft was later returned to Maputo by road, after extensive examination, flight testing and an appearance at an air show.

Netherlands

* On March 7, 1964, a young aircraft engineer, Theo van Eijck, of the Dutch Naval Air Arm MLD stole a two-engined

Grumman S-2 Tracker The Grumman S-2 Tracker (S2F prior to 1962) is the first purpose-built, single airframe anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft to enter service with the United States Navy. Designed and initially built by Grumman, the Tracker was of conventional ...

maritime patrol aircraft A maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), also known as a patrol aircraft, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, maritime surveillance aircraft, or by the older American term patrol bomber, is a fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate for long durations over ...

RAF Hal Far Royal Air Force Hal Far or more commonly RAF Hal Far is a former Royal Air Force station which was the first permanent airfield to be built on Malta. It was operated by the RAF from 1 April 1929 until 1946 when it was transferred and renamed ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

and flew to

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

. He was trying to defect to

, but did not have enough fuel to reach his destination in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

. He made a perfect landing on a short airstrip near

Benghazi Benghazi () () is the List of cities in Libya, second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, Ben ...

, after flying over

Benina Airport Benina International Airport () serves Benghazi, Libya. It is located in the borough of Benina, 19 kilometres (12 mi) east of Benghazi, from which it takes its name. The airport is operated by the Libyan Civil Aviation Authority, Civil Av ...

. The pilot was then granted

by the Libyan authorities, but a year later he agreed to return to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and spent a year in prison. The aircraft was returned to the Dutch afterwards.

Nicaragua

* On 12 June 1979,

Nicaraguan National Guard The Nicaraguan National Guard (, otherwise known as ) was a militia and a gendarmerie created in 1925 during the occupation of Nicaragua by the United States. It became notorious for human rights abuses and corruption under the regime of the S ...

pilot Captain Armangal Lara Cruz defected with his armed

Cessna O-2 The Cessna O-2 Skymaster (nicknamed "Oscar Deuce") is a military version of the Cessna Skymaster, Cessna 337 Super Skymaster, used for forward air control (FAC) and psychological operations (PSYOPS) by the US military between 1967 and 2010. D ...

FAN-320 to

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

. * On 23 December 1985, Sandinista Air Force pilot Sub. Lt. Salvador Blanco Lacayo defected to neighboring Honduras with

An-2 The Antonov An-2 ( USAF/DoD reporting name Type 22, NATO reporting name Colt) is a Soviet mass-produced single-engine biplane utility/agricultural aircraft designed and manufactured by the Antonov Design Bureau beginning in 1947. Its durabili ...

light transport plane. * On 8 December 1988, A Sandinista Air Force pilot Captain Edwin Estrada Leiva defected to Honduras in a Soviet-built

attack helicopter.

North Korea

*On April 28, 1950, 24-year-old Lieutenant Lee Kun Soon defected by flying his Soviet-made

Ilyushin Il-10 The Ilyushin Il-10 (Cyrillic Илью́шин Ил-10, NATO reporting name: "Beast"Gunston 1995, p.108.) is a Soviet ground attack aircraft developed at the end of World War II by the Ilyushin construction bureau. It was also license-built in Cz ...

Pusan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southe ...

, South Korea. *On September 21, 1953, 21-year-old No Kum-sok, a senior

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the

Korean People's Air Force The Korean People's Army Air Force (KPAF; ; Hanja: 朝鮮人民軍空軍) is the unified military aviation force of North Korea. It is the second largest branch of the Korean People's Army comprising an estimated 110,000 members.MiG-15 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of the first successful jet fighters to incorporate s ...

to the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

and is associated with

Operation Moolah Operation Moolah was a United States Air Force (USAF) effort during the Korean War to obtain through defection a fully capable Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15, MiG-15 Fighter aircraft, jet fighter. Communist forces introduced the MiG-15 to Korea o ...

. Considered an intelligence bonanza as this fighter plane was then the best the Communist bloc had, No was awarded the then immense sum of $100,000 (just under $1 million adjusted for inflation (2020)) and the right to reside in the United States. An offer to return the MiG was ignored, and the aircraft is now on display at the

National Museum of the United States Air Force The National Museum of the United States Air Force (formerly the United States Air Force Museum) is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is ...

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

. *On June 21, 1955, North Korean air force pilots Capt. Lee Un-yong and Lt. Lee Eun-song defected to

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, with a

training plane. *In December 1970, Major Pak Sun-kok, a pilot in the North Korean Air Force, is believed to have defected in

Gangwon Province, South Korea Gangwon Province (), officially Gangwon State (), is a administrative divisions of South Korea, Special Self-Governing Province of South Korea. It is known as the largest and population density, least densely populated subdivision of South Korea. ...

with a MiG-15. He is thought to have become a pilot with the

Republic of Korea Air Force The Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF; ), also known as the ROK Air Force or South Korean Air Force, is the Air force, aerial and Space force, space warfare service branch of South Korea, operating under the Ministry of National Defense (South K ...

. *On February 25, 1983, Captain Lee Ung-pyong (28) of the North Korean Air Force used a training exercise to defect and landed his

MiG-19 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 (; NATO reporting name: Farmer) is a Soviet second generation, single-seat, twinjet fighter aircraft. It was the first Soviet production aircraft capable of supersonic speeds in level flight. A comparable U.S. " Cen ...

at an airfield in

. According to then-common practice, he received a commission in the South Korean Air Force, eventually becoming a colonel and taught at the South Korean Air Force academy until his death in 2002. He received a reward of

₩ The won sign , is a currency symbol. It represents the South Korean won, the North Korean won and, unofficially, the old Korean Empire won, Korean won. Appearance Its appearance is "W" (the first letter of "Won") with a horizontal strike ...

1.2 billion.

Pakistan

* On August 20, 1971, during the Indo-Pakistan of War 1971, Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman, an instructor pilot, attempted to defect from the

Pakistan Air Force The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) (; ) is the aerial warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces, tasked primarily with the aerial defence of Pakistan, with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Navy when re ...

(PAF) and join the separatist fight of

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

, by flying a

Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star (or T-Bird) is an American subsonic jet trainer. It was produced by Lockheed and made its first flight in 1948. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 starting as TP-80C/TF-80C in development, then d ...

trainer aircraft with a copy of the

Pakistani Armed Forces The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the military forces of Pakistan. It is the world's sixth-largest military measured by active military personnel and consists of three uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are backe ...

Operational plan for the Southern theater (which he possibly stole from Air Base Headquarters) from

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. His attempt was foiled by trainee

Pilot Officer Pilot officer (Plt Off or P/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Pilot officer is the lowest ran ...

Rashid Minhas Pilot Officer Rashid Minhas () was a Pakistani fighter pilot and the fifth recipient of Pakistan's highest military award, the Nishan-e-Haider. Minhas was the first and only officer from the Pakistan Air Force to receive the Nishan-e-Haider, ...

Poland

*In 1949, Lt. Arkadiusz Korobczyński defected with

Il-2 The Ilyushin Il-2 (Russian language, Russian: Илью́шин Ил-2) is a Ground attack aircraft, ground-attack plane that was produced by the Soviet Union in large numbers during the World War II, Second World War. The word ''shturmovík'' (C ...

M3 attack aircraft (No 3) from

Polish Navy The Polish Navy (; often abbreviated to ) is the Navy, naval military branch , branch of the Polish Armed Forces. The Polish Navy consists of 46 ships and about 12,000 commissioned and enlisted personnel. The traditional ship prefix in the Polish ...

's air base in

Wicko Morskie Wicko Morskie ()''Ortsnamenverzeichnis der Ortschaften jenseits von Oder und Neiße'' by M. Kaemmerer is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Postomino, within Sławno County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. It l ...

Gotland Gotland (; ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a Provinces of Sweden, province/Counties of Sweden, county (Swedish län), Municipalities of Sweden, municipality, a ...

Island in Sweden. *On March 5, 1953,

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

Lt.

Franciszek Jarecki Franciszek Jarecki (born September 7, 1931 – died October 24, 2010) was a pilot in the Polish Air Force, who became famous in early 1953 when he escaped Soviet-controlled Poland in a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 jet, one of the best Soviet planes at ...

flew from

Słupsk Słupsk (; ; ) is a city with powiat rights located on the Słupia River in the Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland, in the historical region of Pomerania or more specifically in its part known in contemporary Poland as Central Pomerania ...

(Polish Air Force Base) to

Island in a

bis (No 346) - a modern

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

fighter. Western air specialists checked the aircraft and several days later, the MiG returned to the

People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...

by ship. Jarecki, however, went to the United States, where he provided much important information about modern Soviet aircraft and air tactics. *On May 20, 1953, Lt. Zdzisław Jaźwiński from 28th Fighter Squadron in Słupsk defected with

bis to Rønne Airport on Bornholm Island, Denmark. *On September 25, 1956, Lt. Zygmunt Gościniak from Zegrze Pomorskie defected with

bis (No 1327) and landed (without using landing gear) at Rønne Airport on Bornholm Island. *On November 7, 1957, Lt. Kożuchowski from 31st Fighter Squadron in

Łask Łask () is a town in central Poland with 16,925 inhabitants (2020). It is the capital of Łask County, and is situated in Łódź Voivodeship. It is located in the Sieradz Land. A town with some 1,000 years of history, Łask is a former residenti ...

defected with Lim-2 (

bis, No 1919) and crash-landed near

Halland Halland () is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap''), on the western coast of Götaland, southern Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Skåne, Scania and the sea of Kattegat. Until 1645 and the Second Treaty of Br ...

in Sweden. *On October 12, 1959, Capt. Andrzej Krajewski, Polish Air Force pilot ublin/Radomdefected from Grudziadz Aeroclub in a bi-plane with his pregnant wife and three-year-old daughter and landed on a military field near Rønne, Bornholm Island.

Portugal

* On 12 March 1963 1st Lieutenant Jacinto Soares Veloso defected from the

Portuguese Air Force The Portuguese Air Force () is the air force, aerial warfare force of Portugal. Locally it is referred to by the acronym FAP but internationally is often referred to by the acronym PRTAF. It is the youngest of the three branches of the Portuguese ...

by flying his T-6 trainer across the

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

- Tanganyika border to

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...

, where he joined the

Mozambique Liberation Front FRELIMO (; from , ) is a democratic socialist political party in Mozambique. It has governed the country since its independence from Portugal in 1975. Founded in 1962, FRELIMO began as a nationalist movement fighting for the self-determination ...

Rhodesia

* In 1977, Jurick Goldwasser, a former mayor of

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; ) is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council claimed it to be about ...

and distant cousin of

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

presidential candidate A candidate, or nominee, is a prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position. For example, one can be a candidate for membership in a group or election to an office, in which case a ...

and

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...

, flew to

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

in a small private plane and asked for political asylum.

Saudi Arabia

* On 2 October 1962 a twin-engined Saudi Air Force

Fairchild C-123 Provider The Fairchild C-123 Provider is an American military transport aircraft designed by Chase Aircraft and built by Fairchild Aircraft for the U.S. Air Force. In addition to its USAF service, which included later service with the Air Force Reserve a ...

, laden with US-made arms and ammunition said to have been sent by Prince Hassan to the Royal supporters in Yemen, defected to Egypt. Its three crew members sought and were given political asylum. The crew were identified as pilots Rashad Sisha Mecca, Ahmed Hussein Ikka and flight engineer Omar. * On 3 October 1962 two Saudi Arabian fliers landed an air force training plane in upper Egypt and asked for and received political asylum. It was the second such defection in two days. Pilots identified as Aly El-Azhari and Abdul Wahab. * On 8 October 1962 two more Saudi Arabian military aircraft defected to Egypt. * On 11 November 1990, a

Royal Saudi Air Force The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF; ) is the military aviation, aviation branch of the Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabian Armed Forces. The Royal Saudi Air Force currently has wings, squadrons, and a special forces unit dedicated to comba ...

pilot defected with a

F-15C Eagle The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force (USAF) selected McDonnell Douglas's desi ...

fighter to Sudan during

Operation Desert Shield , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

Somalia

*On July 12, 1988, a Somalia Air Force pilot Colonel

Ahmed Mohamed Hassan Ahmed Mohamed Hassan (born 1945.) is a Djiboutian politician. He is a member of the People's Rally for Progress (RPP) and has served in the National Assembly of Djibouti as well as the Pan-African Parliament. Political career At the roundtable ta ...

defected to Djibouti with his

MiG-17F The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (; NATO reporting name: Fresco) is a high-subsonic fighter aircraft produced in the Soviet Union from 1952 and was operated by air forces internationally. The MiG-17 was license-built in China as the Shenyang J-5 and ...

fighter jet, saying that he was refusing to obey orders to bomb civilian targets in the North. *On May 29, 1989, a Somalia Air Force pilot lieutenant colonel Mohamed Sheikh Ibrahim Yusuf defected to Djibouti with his

transport plane, and requested political asylum.

South Korea

*In September 1949, a South Korean pilot, 1st Lieutenant Pak Yong-ju, defected with his

Stinson L-5 The Stinson L-5 Sentinel is a World War II-era liaison aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), U.S. Army Ground Forces, U.S. Marine Corps and the British Royal Air Force. It was produced by the Stinson Division of the Vulte ...

to North Korea. *On December 3, 1952, a South Korean Army Aviator student, 2nd Lt. Kug Yong-am, defected with his L-19 51–4794 to

Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...

, North Korea. *In October 1953, a South Korean pilot-instructor Capt. Kim Sung-bai defected with an F-51 Mustang fighter plane to North Korea. *On January 20, 1954, a South Korean pilot 2nd Lieutenant Choi Mai-chong defected with an L-19 light observation plane to North Korea.

Soviet Union

* On October 9, 1948, Piotr Pirogov and Anatoly Barsov defected (see ) by flying their

Tu-2 The Tupolev Tu-2 (development names ANT-58 and 103; NATO reporting name Bat) is a twin-engined Soviet high-speed daylight and frontline bomber aircraft used during World War II. The Tu-2 was tailored to meet a requirement for a high-speed bomber ...

bomber from the USSR to

Linz, Austria Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...

, where they were granted asylum by the American occupational authorities. Barsov returned to the USSR a year later and was executed. * In 1961, a disappointed Soviet pilot flew his

Sukhoi Su-9 The Sukhoi Su-9 (Air Standardization Coordinating Committee, ASCC reporting name: Fishpot) is a single-engine, all-weather, missile-armed interceptor aircraft developed by the Soviet Union. Development The Su-9 emerged from aerodynamic studie ...

interceptor to

Abadan Abadan (; ) is a city in the Central District (Abadan County), Central District of Abadan County, Khuzestan province, Khuzestan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. The city is in the southwest of the coun ...

. Few details about this incident are known, but the plane and the pilot were quickly picked up by officers of the Foreign Technology Division (FTD) of the

U.S. Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, t ...

. After being disassembled within 24 hours the Su-9 was transported to the US, while the pilot followed shortly after. * On May 7, 1973,

Yevgeny Vronsky flew his

Sukhoi Su-7 The Sukhoi Su-7 ( NATO designation name: Fitter-A) is a swept wing, supersonic fighter aircraft developed by the Soviet Union in 1955. Originally, it was designed as a tactical, low-level dogfighter, but was not successful in this role. On the ...

from East Germany, where he was stationed, to West Germany and ejected near

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel (district), Wolfenbüttel Distri ...

. The wreckage of the aircraft was returned to the Soviet Union, but German authorities let Vronsky stay in the country. * On September 6, 1976,

Viktor Belenko Viktor Ivanovich Belenko (; February 15, 1947 – September 24, 2023) was a Soviet-born American aerospace engineer and pilot who defected in 1976 to the West while flying his MiG-25 "Foxbat" jet interceptor and landed in Hakodate, Japan. ...

flew to

Hakodate Airport is an airport located eastAIS Japan
of Hakodate Station in Hakodate, a city in Hokkaidō, Japan. It is owned by the Mi ...

in Japan and

with his

MiG-25P The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 (; NATO reporting name: Foxbat) is a supersonic interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft that is among the fastest military aircraft to enter service. Designed by the Soviet Union's Mikoyan-Gurevich bureau, it is an ...

Hakodate is a Cities of Japan, city and seaports of Japan, port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of January 31, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 239,813 with 138,807 househol ...

, Japan. After being inspected by the Foreign Technology Division of the United States DoD, the MiG-25 was released to Japan, who then returned it in pieces to the Soviet Union after having been disassembled and analyzed by the United States. * On September 25, 1976

Valentin Ivanovich Zosimov (, 1939–1995) flew his civilian

Aeroflot PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (, ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; , , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. Aeroflot is headquartered in the Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow, with its hub being Sheremetyevo Interna ...

AN‐2 to Iran. In October 1976 after threats by the Soviet Union to send insurgents the Iranian regime, led by

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980) was the last List of monarchs of Iran, Shah of Iran, ruling from 1941 to 1979. He succeeded his father Reza Shah and ruled the Imperial State of Iran until he was overthrown by the ...

, forcibly returned Zosimov back to

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

where he was sentenced to 12 years in prison. He was sent to Perm-36 from which he was released on October 23, 1986. * On May 20, 1989,

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Aleksandr Zuyev defected with his

Mikoyan MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 (; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the MiG-29, along with the larger Suk ...

Trabzon Trabzon, historically known as Trebizond, is a city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. The city was founded in 756 BC as "Trapezous" by colonists from Miletus. It was added into the Achaemenid E ...

, Turkey. In his autobiography ''Fulcrum: A Top Gun Pilot's Escape from the Soviet Empire'' (), Zuyev reported that the USSR quickly did a deal with the Turkish government upon his defection, and the MiG-29 was returned to the Soviet Union. According to Zuyev himself, the first words he said as he stepped out of the cockpit after his successful defection were: "I'm an American!". He was airlifted out of Turkey by a U.S. C-130 that same night to

Ramstein Air Base Ramstein Air Base is a United States Air Force installation located in Rhineland-Palatinate, southwestern Germany. It serves as the headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) and NATO Alli ...

in West Germany, due to injuries sustained during his escape from the Soviet airbase.

Syria

*On 15–17 August 1968, the pilots of nine Syrian

s and three

s defected to Jordan after failing in a coup attempt *On June 14, 1976, A Palestinian pilot in the Syrian Air Force, Flight Lieutenant Mahmoud Musleh Yasin, defected to Iraq with his

MiG-23 Flogger The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (; NATO reporting name: Flogger) is a variable-sweep wing, variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan, Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB, design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-generation jet fighter, ...

. *On July 27, 1976, Syrian pilot Captain Ahmed Abdul Qadar Al-Termanini, the "

October war The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria. Most o ...

" hero, defected to Iraq with his MiG-21 fighter jet. *On October 11, 1989, Syrian pilot Abdel Bassem landed his

ML in Israel.

Taiwan

* On 12 January 1955, Major Xao Long defected to the People's Republic of China with his crew, on board a

C-46 Commando The Curtiss C-46 Commando is a low-wing, twin-engine aircraft derived from the Curtiss CW-20 pressurized high-altitude airliner design. Early press reports used the name "Condor III" but the Commando name was in use by early 1942 in company ...

transport plane. * On 23 February 1955, Two

cadets defected with

PT-17 The Stearman (Boeing) Model 75 is an American biplane formerly used as a military trainer aircraft, of which at least 10,626 were built in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. Stearman Aircraft became a subsidiary of Boeing in 1934. Wi ...

training plane. * On 18 May 1955, pilot Lieutenant Hui Wei attempted to defect in his F-47 but crash landed just inside

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

. * On 15 August 1956, Major Gang Huang, an

Republic of China Air Force Academy The Republic of China Air Force Academy (CAFA; ) is the service academy for the air force of the Republic of China (Taiwan), and is located in Gangshan District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. History Mainland China The Republic of China Air Force Acade ...

instructor pilot, defected to the

with his

AT-6 Texan The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft, which was used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Air Force (USAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Ro ...

trainer aircraft numbered 106. * On 1 June 1963, Tingze Xu, a pilot in the

43 Squadron, defected to the People's Republic of China in a

F-86F Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...

. In doing so, he took off from

Hsinchu Air Base Hsinchu Airport ( zh, t=新竹機場, s=新竹机场, first=t, p=Xīnzhú Jīchǎng, ) is an airport and military airbase in North District, Hsinchu City, Taiwan. History It was constructed during the era of Japanese rule on 19 May 1936 and w ...

and landed at Longtian,

Fujian province Fujian is a province in southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefecture city by population is Qua ...

, PRC. The aircraft is now on display in the Military Museum of Chinese People's Revolution in Beijing. * On 26 May 1969, two

pilots defected to the People's Republic of China with

T-33 Shooting Star The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star (or T-Bird) is an American subsonic jet trainer. It was produced by Lockheed and made its first flight in 1948. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 starting as TP-80C/TF-80C in development, then d ...

trainer aircraft serialled 3024. The crew were later identified as instructor pilot Wang Tianming and cadet Zhu Jingrong. The aircraft is now on display in the Military Museum of Chinese People's Revolution in Beijing. * On August 8, 1981, Major Huang Zhi Cheng (黄值诚), an instructor pilot, defected to the

with his Northrop

F-5F The Northrop F-5 is a family of supersonic light fighter aircraft initially designed as a privately funded project in the late 1950s by Northrop Corporation. There are two main models: the original F-5A and F-5B Freedom Fighter variants, and th ...

serial 5361. He obtained a reward of US$370,000 (sum immediately returned) and was nominated Deputy Commander of a pilot training school. According to the Chinese government he was the 90th member of the Nationalist forces to defect by plane since 1949. * On 22 April 1983, Li Dawei (李大维), flying a

U-6A Beaver The de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is a single-engined high-wing propeller-driven short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft developed and manufactured by de Havilland Canada. It has been primarily operated as a bush plane and has been used ...

, defected from the Republic of China to the People's Republic of China. The aircraft is now on display in the Military Museum of Chinese People's Revolution in Beijing. * On 4 May 1986, Wang Xijue (王锡爵), a commercial airline pilot who claimed to have flown U-2 recon overflights of the PRC with the

Black Cat Squadron The Black Cat Squadron (), formally the 35th Squadron, was a squadron of the Republic of China Air Force that flew the U-2 surveillance plane out of Taoyuan Air Base in northern Taiwan, from 1961 to 1974. 26 ROCAF pilots successfully completed U ...

, defected to China with his

Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a long-range wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023. After the introduction of the Boeing 707, 707 in October 1958, Pan Am ...

jet. * On 2 November 1989, the pilot of a Taiwan Air Force

Northrop F-5E The Northrop F-5 is a family of supersonic light fighter aircraft initially designed as a privately funded project in the late 1950s by Northrop Corporation. There are two main models: the original F-5A and F-5B Freedom Fighter variants, and th ...

(serial #5120), Lin Xianshun (林贤顺), ejected 80 km inside the

province of mainland China; the pilotless jet careened down and crashed. Its remains are put on show at the Chinese People's Revolution Museum at Xiaotangshan (Datangshan).

United States

* In March 1962,

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

soldier Sgt. B. J. Keesee defected to Cuba in a

Piper Comanche The Piper PA-24 Comanche is an American single-engine, low-wing, all-metal monoplane of semimonocoque construction with tricycle Landing gear, retractable landing gear and four or six seats. The Comanche was designed and built by Piper Aircraft ...

. * In July 1963, United States Airman Roberto "Robert" Ramos Michelena defected to Cuba in a

T-34 Mentor The Beechcraft T-34 Mentor is an American propeller-driven, single-engined, military trainer aircraft derived from the Beechcraft Bonanza, Beechcraft Model 35 Bonanza. The earlier versions of the T-34, dating from around the late 1940s to the ...

. * On 21 May 1967, Major Richard Harwood Pearce, a

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

recipient in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, who was cleared to handle secret US Army materials, defected to

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

in a

Cessna 150 The Cessna 150 is a two-seat tricycle gear general aviation airplane that was designed for flight training, touring and personal use.Plane and Pilot: ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', pages 22-23. Werner & Werner Corp, Santa Monica CA, 1977. In 19 ...

light plane. Pearce was granted asylum in Cuba.

Venezuela

* On 26 June 1973,

Venezuelan Air Force Bolivarian Military Aviation of Venezuela (), is a professional armed body designed to defend Venezuela's sovereignty and airspace. It is a service component of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela. Etymology The organization is al ...

pilot Capt. Aristides Gonzalez Salazar and a crewmember Sgt. Carlos Ramirez Madero defected with Canberra B. (I). Mk.52 jet bomber to Cuba.

South Vietnam

* On 27 February 1962, South Vietnamese pilot Lieutenant Nguyen Van Cu defected to

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

with his Douglas A-1H Skyraider (Bu 134485) after failing in a coup attempt. * On 7 November 1973, South Vietnamese pilot Lieutenant Ho Duy Hung defected to North Vietnam with a US-made UH-1A helicopter serial number 60139. * On 8 April 1975, a

Republic of Vietnam Air Force The South Vietnam Air Force, officially the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF; ; ) (sometimes referred to as the Vietnam Air Force or VNAF), was the aerial branch of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, the official military of the Repub ...

officer, Captain Nguyen Thanh Trung, bombed the presidential palace in Saigon and defected to North Vietnam in his

Yugoslavia

* On 13 September 1953, a

pilot Lieutenant Nikola Jakšić flew his P-47D Thunderbolt to Italy and asked for political asylum after landing at Aviano Air Base. Airport officials quoted him as saying he had "chosen freedom."United Press, "Yugoslav Pilot Flies His Plane to 'Freedom'", ''San Bernardino Daily Sun'', San Bernardino, California, Volume LX, Number 12, page 1.

Zimbabwe

* On 30 June 1988, a Air Force of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Air Force pilot Flight Lieutenant Gary Kane stole his Bell 412 helicopter in an abortive attempt to rescue alleged South African agents from prison.

References

{{reflist, 30em Lists of defectors, Cold War pilots Lists of aviators, Defections Cold War-related lists, Pil Defection