Soviet Fighter Pilot Crash Lands in Japan to Defect to U.S. (1976)
On September 6, 1976, Soviet fighter pilot Viktor Belenko defected from the Soviet Union in his MiG-25 fighter jet to Hakodate, Japan. Belenko became an overnight worldwide name and was viewed as a hero in the U.S. and a traitor in the Soviet Union.
During the Cold War between the U.S. and Soviet Union tensions were often very high, especially for military pilots that occasionally intercepted each other and faced potential air-to-air combat.
On this day, September 6, 1976, Belenko left the Soviet airbase at Chuguyevka, Siberia on a training flight. While in flight, Belenko deliberately veered off course and headed for the civilian airport in Hakodate, Japan in an incredible escape from the Soviet command. With less than one minute of fuel remaining Belenko successfully landed at the airport in Kakodate, Japan nearly crashing in the process. He immediately pleaded for political asylum from the Soviet Union.
U.S. armed forces quickly became involved and President Gerald Ford granted Belenko asylum. Shortly thereafter, the West was able to disassemble and examine the then top-secret, extremely fast, and most feared Soviet fighter jet, the MiG-25 aka “Foxtrot.” The U.S. learned many secrets about the aircraft in the process. The U.S. government interrogated Belenko for many months and utilized his knowledge for many years in foreign military affairs regarding the Soviet Union.
The impact of Belenko's defection was huge. For example, the Soviet Ministry of Defense spent over 2 billion roubles in an attempt to reconstruct two aircraft carriers and other highly classified Soviet military systems in order to make up for the information the Soviets believed that Belenko gave to the Americans.
In 1980, U.S. Congress enacted a bill that granted Belenko U.S. citizenship. President Jimmy Carter signed the bill into law in October 1980.
INTERESTING NOTE: Belenko was not the only pilot who defected from the U.S.S.R. to the U.S. during the Cold War. Many others did as well. For example, in 1953, two Polish Air Force pilots defected in their MiG-15s to Denmark. A North Korean pilot also defected in 1953 in his MiG-15 to a U.S. air base in South Korea.