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247:(itself started with a battery). With one engine running, the remaining three could easily be started. The aircraft, with all seven of the crew aboard, quickly taxied down the runway. The Taliban tried to block the runway with a fire truck but the aircraft was able to take to the air, thus avoiding the obstacle. The escapees were able to quickly exit Taliban controlled airspace and charted a course to the
242:
The
Russians had been planning their escape for over a year. After Hank Brown secured visits to their aircraft for the whole crew they not only did routine maintenance but secretly prepared it for flight. On each trip the crew would be guarded by six Taliban guards but on 16 August 1996, half of
233:
to mediate between the two parties broke down over a prisoner exchange. The
Taliban stated that they would free the airmen if the Russians released Afghans held by the Russian government. However the Russians denied holding any Afghan citizens. Brown was able to get the Taliban to agree that the
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206:(commander), Gazinur Khairullin (second pilot), Alexander Zdor (navigator), Askhad Abbyazov, Yuri Vshivtsev, Sergei Butuzov and Viktor Ryazanov. They were transporting 30 tons of weapons from
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aircraft forced the
Russian aircraft to land at Kandahar. Negotiations between the Russian government and the Taliban to free the men stalled for over a year and efforts by U.S. senator
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162:. 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.
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the guards left the crew for afternoon prayers. Seizing the opportunity, the
Russians overpowered the remaining guards and the pilot was able to start one engine from the
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Russian crew should be allowed to maintain their aircraft. This request paved the way for their escape.
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telephoned the crewmen to congratulate them as they flew to Russia on a
Russian government aircraft.
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movement sprang out of
Kandahar and by early 1995 had taken control of most of the country south of
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transport aircraft, with seven
Russian nationals on board, forcing it to land at Taliban-occupied
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TD involved in the escape, RA-76842, is still in service, but is now operated by
73:
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On 3 August 1995, Taliban-controlled fighter aircraft intercepted an
Airstan
187:
560:
Merchant of death: money, guns, planes, and the man who makes war possible
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511:
69:
665:
207:
175:
1625:
List of aviation accidents and incidents in the war in
Afghanistan
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179:
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686:
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List of Soviet aircraft losses during the Soviet–Afghan War
264:
In 2001 the men released a book about their ordeal called,
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Accidents and incidents involving the
Ilyushin Il-76
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128:
120:
112:
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375:
1655:Aviation accidents and incidents in Afghanistan
1471:Bakhtar Afghan Airlines Antonov An-26 shootdown
1463:Bakhtar Afghan Airlines Antonov An-26 shootdown
1449:Aviation accidents and incidents in Afghanistan
533:"Afghan Escape Film 'Kandahar' Pulls in Crowds"
390:
202:. On board the plane were Russian nationals:
1434:
1061:
698:
8:
1675:Accidents and incidents by airline of Russia
19:
1312:TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402
582:Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (August 19, 1996).
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1665:Terrorist incidents in Afghanistan in 1995
1441:
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705:
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584:"7 Russians escape after year as hostages"
483:"Daredevil airmen receive warm homecoming"
424:
401:
25:
18:
531:Bratersky, Alexander (February 9, 2010).
447:
1695:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1996
1690:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1995
661:www.airliners.net – pictures of RA-76842
604:"Russian airmen escape from Afghanistan"
280:about the Russian crew and their escape.
969:Khabarovsk United Air Group Flight 3949
739:Intercontinental de Aviación Flight 256
556:Farah, Douglas; Braun, Stephen (2007).
341:
172:Afghanistan was in a state of civil war
869:Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529
779:Air Transport International Flight 782
564:(2007 ed.). John Wiley and Sons.
353:
1592:Silk Way Airlines Antonov An-12 crash
839:Lagos Harka Air Services Tu-134 crash
313:Beijing Capital International Airport
7:
629:Washington Times (August 19, 1996).
481:Associated Press (August 19, 1996).
460:"✈ russianplanes.net ✈ наша авиация"
1611:Badakhshan Dassault Falcon 10 crash
1560:Transafrik International Flight 662
616:from the original on 19 August 2010
518:from the original on 19 August 2010
506:BBC Monitoring (October 29, 2001).
1372:Dirgantara Air Service Flight 5940
631:"Russian hostages describe escape"
14:
999:Trans Service Airlift L-188 crash
283:The story of this is included in
210:to the besieged Afghan President
1710:1996 in the United Arab Emirates
1202:Belgian Air Force Hercules crash
1078:Aviation accidents and incidents
879:Royal Air Force Nimrod MR2 XV239
715:Aviation accidents and incidents
656:Pictures of the crew's captivity
602:Reeves, Phil (August 19, 1996).
276:, 2010 Russian film by director
57:Fighter interception and impound
1332:Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision
979:Air St. Martin Beech 1900 crash
959:Azerbaijan Airlines Flight A-56
799:Royal Air Force Nimrod R1 XW666
749:Bristow Helicopters Flight 56C
160:Kandahar International Airport
66:Kandahar International Airport
49:3 August 1995 – 16 August 1996
1:
1700:Hostage taking in Afghanistan
1352:Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961
949:Cameroon Airlines Flight 3701
929:American Airlines Flight 1572
889:Malaysia Airlines Flight 2133
829:All Nippon Airways Flight 857
819:Ansett New Zealand Flight 703
759:TransAsia Airways Flight 510A
16:1990s hostage-taking incident
1725:Afghanistan–Russia relations
1715:Afghan Civil War (1992–1996)
1584:National Airlines Flight 102
1568:Silk Way Airlines Flight 995
1498:Ariana Afghan Airlines crash
1242:Vnukovo Airlines Flight 2801
1172:Eastwind Airlines Flight 517
1152:Formosa Airlines Flight 7613
1019:American Airlines Flight 965
769:Borodianka mid-air collision
437:Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 1996
1650:Aircraft hijackings in Asia
1392:New Hampshire Learjet crash
1382:Airborne Express Flight 827
1192:Delta Air Lines Flight 1288
1182:Garuda Indonesia Flight 865
1746:
1720:August 1995 events in Asia
1506:Indian Airlines Flight 814
1232:Spair Airlines Flight 3601
939:Nigeria Airways Flight 357
919:Alaska E-3 Sentry accident
1621:
1401:
1262:FedEx Express Flight 1406
1093:
1028:
730:
319:As of November 2019, the
24:
1576:Boeing Chinook shootdown
1552:Pamir Airways Flight 112
1292:Westendorff UFO sighting
1272:Texel Douglas DC-3 crash
537:The St. Petersburg Times
1730:Hijackings in the 1990s
1342:Quincy Airport disaster
1322:ADC Airlines Flight 086
1132:Faucett Perú Flight 251
1112:LAC Colombia Flight 028
588:Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
508:"Escape from Kandahar"
425:Farah & Braun 2007
402:Farah & Braun 2007
316:
1302:Millon Air Flight 406
1252:Hemus Air Flight 7081
809:Knight Air Flight 816
414:Washington Times 1996
376:Associated Press 1996
310:
218:Capture and captivity
1705:History of Tatarstan
1122:Birgenair Flight 301
989:Banat Air Flight 166
635:The Washington Times
543:on February 14, 2010
311:RA-76842 landing at
303:Current plane status
266:Escape from Kandahar
249:United Arab Emirates
245:auxiliary power unit
200:United Arab Emirates
174:. In late 1994 the
1670:1996 in Afghanistan
1525:Blackwater 61 crash
1410:► 1997
1404:1995 ◄
1282:Aeroperú Flight 603
1037:► 1996
1031:1994 ◄
1009:Tower Air Flight 41
899:Kish Air Flight 707
859:Aviateca Flight 901
577:- Total pages: 308
391:BBC Monitoring 2001
222:On 3 August 1995 a
212:Burhanuddin Rabbani
35:used in the escape.
21:
1533:Kam Air Flight 904
1407:
1162:ValuJet Flight 592
1034:
487:The Register-Guard
317:
285:Operation Man Hunt
259:In popular culture
204:Vladimir Sharpatov
85:Aircraft type
20:Airstan Flight 199
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571:978-0-470-04866-5
464:russianplanes.net
325:Aviacon Zitotrans
293:978-1-78747-545-8
224:Taliban air force
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89:Ilyushin Il-76TD
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493:on 2015-09-22
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618:. Retrieved
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591:. Retrieved
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541:the original
520:. Retrieved
495:. Retrieved
491:the original
463:
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427:, p. 63
420:
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404:, p. 60
397:
331:Bibliography
318:
297:Damien Lewis
284:
278:Andrei Kavun
271:
265:
241:
221:
183:
169:
153:
104:Registration
31:The Airstan
1570:(July 2011)
1473:(June 1987)
378:, p. 4
354:Reeves 1996
74:Afghanistan
1644:Categories
1623:See also:
1594:(May 2016)
1554:(May 2010)
640:August 10,
620:August 10,
593:August 10,
547:August 10,
522:August 10,
497:August 10,
475:References
231:Hank Brown
166:Background
137:Fatalities
121:Passengers
188:Tatarstan
170:In 1995,
145:Survivors
113:Occupants
1362:RA-78804
667:Kandahar
614:Archived
516:Archived
512:BBC News
273:Kandahar
108:RA-76842
95:Operator
80:Aircraft
70:Kandahar
41:Incident
1680:Airstan
1082: (
1080:in 1996
719: (
717:in 1995
315:in 2021
208:Albania
196:Sharjah
192:Airstan
190:-based
176:Taliban
98:Airstan
54:Summary
33:Il-76TD
1388:Dec 24
1378:Dec 22
1358:Nov 27
1348:Nov 23
1338:Nov 19
1328:Nov 12
1308:Oct 31
1298:Oct 22
1268:Sep 25
1238:Aug 29
1228:Aug 19
1218:Aug 16
1208:Jul 17
1198:Jul 15
1178:Jun 13
1158:May 11
1128:Feb 29
1015:Dec 20
1005:Dec 20
995:Dec 18
985:Dec 13
935:Nov 13
925:Nov 12
915:Sep 22
905:Sep 21
895:Sep 19
885:Sep 15
865:Aug 21
835:Jun 24
825:Jun 21
805:May 24
795:May 16
785:Mar 31
775:Feb 16
765:Feb 10
755:Jan 30
745:Jan 19
735:Jan 11
674:
568:
291:
238:Escape
227:MiG-21
1603:2020s
1544:2010s
1517:2000s
1482:1990s
1455:1980s
1368:Dec 9
1318:Nov 7
1288:Oct 5
1278:Oct 2
1258:Sep 5
1248:Sep 3
1188:Jul 6
1168:Jun 9
1148:Apr 5
1138:Apr 3
1118:Feb 6
1108:Feb 4
1098:Jan 8
975:Dec 7
965:Dec 7
955:Dec 5
945:Dec 3
875:Sep 2
855:Aug 9
845:Aug 3
815:Jun 9
336:Notes
295:) by
180:Kabul
1084:1996
721:1995
672:IMDb
642:2010
622:2010
595:2010
566:ISBN
549:2010
524:2010
499:2010
289:ISBN
129:Crew
62:Site
46:Date
670:at
1646::
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383:^
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