Aeroflot Flight 101/435 was a Soviet domestic passenger flight that was hijacked by its co-pilot, Shamil Alimuradov, on 19 December 1985, en route from Takhtamygda to Chita. Armed with a hatchet, Alimuradov demanded that captain Vyacheslav Abramyan divert the Antonov An-24 aircraft to China.[1] Soviet officials authorized the crew to land in China, and gave Abramyan the radio frequency of Qiqihar Airport,[1] but Alimuradov demanded that Abramayan fly to Hailar instead. The aircraft ran out of fuel, and landed in a cow pasture.[2] Alimuradov was apprehended by the Chinese, and the passengers were allowed to travel to Hailar and Harbin.[1] On 21 December, the crew and all 46 passengers returned safely to the Soviet Union.
Hijacking
According to the TASS news agency, the aircraft "had to alter its course as a result of forcible actions of an armed criminal on board and landed in the northeastern part of the People's Republic of China".[3] In 1970, following the hijacking of Aeroflot Flight 244, aircraft captains in the Soviet Union were allowed to possess arms on board; but Abramyan, despite being armed, decided not to resist as it required unbuckling his seat's safety harness.[1] However, he managed to contact air traffic control through a concealed button and report the hijacking.[1]
When the aircraft landed in China, it ran out of food and the temperature outside the aircraft was −25 °C (−13 °F).[1] The Chinese did not allow the crew to warm the cabin because it required starting the engines.[1] Later the passengers were given food and accommodation in a Hailar hotel.[1] The Soviet embassy in Beijing was notified of the incident.[1]
The next day, the passengers were given questionnaires with only name and purpose of visit to be filled out.[1] The passengers were advised to write "tourist trip" as the purpose of the visit.[1] Then they visited Qiqihar, ate in a local restaurant and received Chinese vacuum flasks as gifts.[1]
Aftermath
The passengers returned from Harbin to Chita on a Tupolev Tu-134.[1] Shamil Alimuradov was found guilty after a one-day trial in the Harbin Intermediate People's Court, where he was represented by a Chinese lawyer,[4] and sentenced in March 1986 to eight years in prison.[1] After three years he was returned to the Soviet Union, where he was sentenced to five more years under Soviet laws.[1] The hijacked aircraft was flown back to the Soviet Union in January 1986.
