1995 Airstan Ilyushin Il-76 hijacking

The 1995 Airstan Ilyushin Il-76 hijacking took place on 3 August 1995, Taliban-controlled fighter aircraft intercepted an Airstan Ilyushin Il-76 transport aircraft, with seven Russian nationals on board, forcing it to land at Taliban-occupied Kandahar International Airport. The men were held prisoner for over a year before making their escape; after overpowering their captors they repossessed their aircraft, flying it to freedom towards Russia.

Background

In 1995, Afghanistan was in a state of civil war. In late 1994, the Taliban movement sprang out of Kandahar and by early 1995 had taken control of most of the country south of Kabul, forcing other Afghan groups to abandon territory. In August 1995 the Russian crew of the Ilyushin Il-76 was working for Tatarstan-based Airstan (airline), which was in turn leasing their plane to Rus Trans Avia Export, a Russian company based in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. On board the plane were Russian nationals: Captain Vladimir Sharpatov, First Officer Gazinur Khairullin, Navigator Alexander Zdor, and 4 crew members not in the cockpit: Askhad Abbyazov, Yuri Vshivtsev, Sergei Butuzov and Viktor Ryazanov. They were transporting 30 tons of weapons from Albania to the besieged Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani.