Text 19385, 39 rader
Skriven 2005-12-20 10:01:26 av Ward Dossche (2:292/854)
     Kommentar till en text av Bob Seaborn
Ärende: Re: Copyright
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>> It was not unnoticed. The Russians followed it for most of its voyage.
 
> Not according to what I heard here, mind you, it's mostly usa news
> sources these days, with a touch ofBBC rthrown in for good meaasure.
 
It's a lot more heroic and good for filmstudios to write that he flew very low,
dodged all radars, eluded highly sophisticated fighter-planes and suddenly
popped-up out of nowhere than being confronted with reality which was that they
had him on radar most of the time, fighter planes which were scrambled
identified the pilot as a youngster and ignored orders to shoot him down. The
memory and defamation of the KAL007 747 shoot-down 3 years earlier was still
fresh on their mind.
 
When he got close to Moscow they got sweaty hands anyway because suppose, just
suppose, this plane carried explosives? Too late anyway. Contrary to popular
belief Matthias Rust did NOT land the plane on Red Square but on a nearby
bridge. He then taxied it via the street to Red Square.
 
The plane was returned to its German owners who sold it for over twice its
value to a Japanese money-shark who claimed it was as important as the 'Spirit
of St.Louis' and was hoping for a higher price in years to come. Unfortunately,
for him, 2 years later "the wall" fell and the plane is now worth exactly what
it is ... a 2nd hand single-engined Cessna.
 
>> And, perhaps unknown to many, Matthias Rust had provided for refueling
>> stops because he could not make it in one hop.
 
> Ahhhh.
 
He had fuel stashed away in Germany because he departed as good as empty. In
Finland near Helsinki (not the international airport as mentioned by some
sources because he would never have been able to land there without having been
arrested) he had arranged for a fuel-cache via a girl-friend at a farm where he
topped his tanks before setting-off for Russia.
 
 \%/@rd

--- IN-A-GADDA-DA-VIDA
 * Origin: "Leonard will be free" - http://www.leonardpeltier.org (2:292/854)