Aeroflot Flight 365

Aeroflot Flight 365

An Ilyshin Il-14, similar to the aircraft involved in the hijacking
Hijacking
Date	5 September 1958 (1958-09-05)
Summary	Attempted hijacking
Site	Jõhvi, USSR
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Ilyushin Il-14P
Operator	Aeroflot
Registration	СССР-Л2048
Flight origin	Shosseynaya Airport, Leningrad, USSR
Destination	Ülemiste Airport, Tallinn, USSR
Passengers	11
Crew	6
Fatalities	1
Survivors	16

Aeroflot Flight 365 was a domestic passenger flight from Shosseynaya Airport to Ülemiste Airport. On 5 September 1958, the aircraft operating the route was hijacked and made an emergency landing at Jõhvi. All occupants, except for the hijacker, managed to evacuate before the fuselage burned out.

Aircraft

The aircraft was an Ilyushin Il-14P or Avia 14P with the registration СССР-Л2048 and serial number 705101. It entered service in January 1958. By the time of the hijacking, the plane had logged 1,195 flight hours.

The pilot-in-command was Daniil Danilovich Blasov, the co-pilot was Valentin Georgievich Platonov, the flight engineer was Petr Vasil'evich Bryzgalov, the wireless operator was Anatolii Petrovich Umnov, the navigator was Mark Mikhailovich Martynenko, and the flight attendant was Pil'vi Al'bertona Kaarits.

Hijacking

Flight 365 departed Leningrad normally. 30 minutes after takeoff, a passenger gave a flight attendant a piece of paper, who ordered it to be handed to the pilot. In the paper, the hijacker ordered the pilot to talk with them. Otherwise, the hijacker will kill the crew members.

After reading the paper, the pilot locked the door and prepared a pistol. After one to two minutes, they heard sounds of gunshots or explosions in the cabin, and the hijacker started to breach the cockpit door. Later, the door collapsed, and the pilot gave the flight engineer the pistol, who used it to shoot the hijacker until they were out of ammunition. The passenger used homemade explosives, causing the aircraft to explode and catch fire.

The crew members then started a steep descent to 900 m (3,000 ft) and landed at Jõhvi. All occupants but the hijacker managed to evacuate in time before the plane burned out. Despite the presence of firefighters at the scene, the aircraft burned out almost completely.