Aeroflot Flight 365

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.

Hijacking

Flight 365 departed Leningrad normally. Thirty minutes after takeoff, over the Narva area, a passenger gave the flight attendant a note. In the note, the hijacker ordered the pilot to come out and "speak with a group of interested passengers", otherwise he threatened to kill the crew. Kaarits took the note to Vlasov.

After reading the note, Vlasov locked the door and prepared a pistol. After one to two minutes, sounds of gunshots or explosions were heard in the cabin and the hijacker attempted to break down the cockpit door. The crew radioed ATC about the attack and intended to make an emergency landing at Jõhvi Airport. Vlasov fired some shots at the door and gave the pistol to Bryzgalov. Another explosion damaged the door. Bryzgalov shot at the hijacker until he was out of ammunition. The passenger used homemade explosives, causing the aircraft to explode and catch fire.

The crew then began a steep descent to 900 m and landed at Jõhvi. All occupants but the hijacker managed to evacuate in time before the plane burned out, although Vlasov broke his back while escaping via the astrodome. Despite firefighting efforts, the aircraft burned out almost completely.