Lifting on Board the Tu-154, carrying out flight on a route Irkutsk – Kurgan – Leningrad, many passengers were making plans for the evening: someone went home, someone to visit or on business. At Ovechkina Ninel and her children too had their own special plan, to which exemplary family was prepared for almost half a year, — the hijacking and daring escape from the Soviet Union.
8 March 1988, the passengers of Tu-154 operating the flight from Irkutsk to Leningrad, were in high spirits. They didn’t know that flying with them a large family Blackhawks in a few hours, grab a plane and demand to go to London.
“Poor” Ovechkin
Ovechkin lived modestly, his father liked to drink, so raising 11 children mainly engaged in the mother — Ninel’. The woman was always the authority for all members of a numerous family, but becoming a widow in 1984, increased its influence at home. She noticed that her boys — Vasily, Dmitry, Oleg, Alexander, Igor, Michael and little Sergey is incredibly musical. In 1983 the sons organized a jazz ensemble “Seven Simeons”. The success was tremendous. About gifted musicians made a documentary. The state, of the strong embrace which they would later try to run, gave mothers two-bedroom apartments. Talented seven out of competition adopted in the school of music, but because of the constant touring and rehearsals “Simeoni” dropped out of school in a year. In 1987, Ovechkin dropped an chance — a trip to Japan, where young talents would be performing in front of a huge audience. Perhaps the tour subsequently pushed the brothers to a terrible crime. Breaking away from the Union they no longer wanted to live “in the country of queues and shortages”. Later one of the survivors Blackhawks will tell investigators that during the foreign tours of young people made an offer — a good recording contract with the English company. Even then, the brothers were ready to say Yes and to stay in a foreign country. But by doing this, they could forever say goodbye to her mother and sisters, which never released from the Soviet Union. So the band decided that in the near future at any cost will leave the “Scoop”, and began to prepare to escape from the country.
Jokes aside
Flight on a route Irkutsk – Kurgan – Leningrad took place quietly. But when the aircraft landed in Barrow to refuel and took off again, it became clear that Northern capital to the plane on this day will not fly. Ovechkin began to act quickly, previously well-established scheme. Through the stewardess brothers gave the pilot a note that demanded dramatically change the route and fly to London. Otherwise, the invaders promised to blow up the plane. At first the pilots thought that the musicians are joking. However, when seniors Ovechkin got cut and started threatening the passengers, it became clear that criminals are determined.It was necessary as soon as possible to neutralize the armed terrorists before they get somebody killed, but how was it to do? The second pilot invited the commander to deal with the invaders alone. The crew was a personal weapon — a Makarov pistols. In the event of an emergency, the pilots had the right to shoot to kill. However, fearing consequences from risky plan decided to give up and wait for instructions from earth. There we took over from the KGB officers. With the young terrorists first tried to negotiate: they were asked to disembark all passengers in exchange for a refueling and guaranteed departures in Helsinki. But “Seven Simeons” headed by the mother did not want to make concessions. Then to negotiate with armed criminals came out of the flight engineer of an aircraft innocent Stupakov. The man was given clear instructions to convince the Blackhawks that low on fuel, and therefore we must urgently take. Young people believe Stupakova and were ready to land anywhere. Anywhere but outside the Soviet Union. After some consultation, the invaders gave the command to head for Finland. Following negotiations with the brothers came out Hot stewardess Tamara. She said starting to get nervous perpetrators that soon aircraft will sit in the Finnish town of Kotka. From this moment the task of flight crews was to simulate the flight to Finland. It was decided to land at a military airfield Veshevo, near Leningrad, the crew hoped that Ovechkin will not notice the deception and, once the aircraft landed, the terrorists will be neutralized.
16:05 the aircraft landed safely in Veshevo, all went well. Newly minted terrorists did not suspect that they are still at home. But then something happened that broke the good move throughout a capture operation. Unexpectedly to the aircraft from all sides began to approach the Soviet military. Blackhawks struck — all the while they remained in “fucking Scoop”, the stories about Finland were lies! In anger 24-year-old Dmitry was immediately shot point-blank by a Hot flight attendant Tamara. At the same time Ninel Ovechkin gave the command to storm the cockpit. But the attempt to break through to the pilots failed, then the brothers threatened to start shooting passengers if the plane will not refuel and will not give him safely off. The terrorists refused to let even women and children. When the family saw the refueling, they let out the flight engineer that he opened the fuel tanks. Actually the gas station was, but worked as a sort of screen — took place outside a show. Everything was subordinated to one goal — to stall for time until the plane will not find two SWAT teams. According to the plan, several armed fighters of the special task force had to get on Board Tu-154 through the window in the cockpit, the other through the entrance to the tail. When the plane took off and began to taxi to the runway, the operation to capture and neutralization Blackhawks started.
Backup plan
In 1988, the law enforcement system of the USSR was not designed to counter the terrorists, the purpose of which are civilians. Simply because the terrorist attacks or attempts were extremely rare one-time promotions. Accordingly, no tools were produced capturing terrorists, freeing the hostages. Was not specially trained for such actions of divisions in every major city, the regional center. The role of the spetsnaz were the employees of the patrol service. This explains how they acted while trying to neutralize the brothers ‘ Blackhawks. First began to attack the soldiers in the cockpit. They opened fire, but the mountain brothers-the arrows do not hit, but managed to wound four passengers. Ovechkin was much more accurate, in response to the firefight, the terrorists wounded soldiers, which eventually disappeared behind the armored door to the cockpit. The storm tail also did not succeed, opened the hatch, the special forces started to shoot at the feet of the invaders, but to no avail. According to eyewitnesses, the terrorists rushed through the cabin, like animals, driven into the cage. But at some point Ninel gathered around him four sons: Vasily, Dmitry, Oleg and Alexander. Passengers did not immediately understand that trying to make these people. Meanwhile Ovechkin said goodbye to each other and set fire to one of the homemade bombs. It turns out that even before the hijacking, the family promised in case of failure of the operation to commit suicide. After a second explosion, which killed only Alexander. The plane caught fire, started to panic, there was a fire. But terrorists continued work begun. Ninel ordered his eldest son Basil to kill her one shot at the mother without hesitation. As under the barrel of a sawn-off shotgun stood Dmitri, then Oleg. 17-year-old Igor didn’t want to say goodbye to life and hid in the toilet — he knew that if brother will find him, he did not survive. But Basil had no time to search, time was very little. After dealing with Oleg, he shot himself. Meanwhile some of the passengers opened is not equipped with a trap door; escaping from fire, people began to jump out of an airplane, they all received serious injuries and fractures. When the SWAT team finally entered on Board, the soldiers began to evacuate people. At eight o’clock the operation to free the hostages was completed. As a result of a hijacking attempt, killing four civilians — three passengers and a flight attendant. 15 people were injured. Seven Blackhawks have lost five.
