In July 1989, the NATO Air Force Command received an urgent report from the air defense radar station: a Soviet MiG-23 fighter jet directly invaded West German airspace at low altitude and low speed, and flew all the way to the Dutch airspace. After receiving this report, the NATO Air Force felt faced with a formidable enemy and immediately dispatched two F-15E fighter jets to perform the interception mission.
MiG-23 fighter jet
However, when NATO pilot drove an F-15E close to the MiG-23 from the Soviet Union, the scene in front of him shocked the pilot : The cockpit was empty, and the driver could not be seen at all!
Regarding this weird scene, NATO did not know how to deal with it for a while. It could only watch the unmanned MiG-23 flying through the airspace of five countries. So, what happened to such a strange incident?
An accident occurred, and the pilot parachuted to escape
The starting point of the incident is a flight training performed by Soviet pilot Nikolay Skulkin in July 1989.
On the morning of July 4, Nikolai Skulkin took off from Begiz Air Force Base in a MiG-23M in accordance with the instructions from his superiors, preparing to perform flight training over the Baltic Sea . This air force base is located on the Polish border, less than 150 kilometers away from NATO airspace.
MiG-23 fighter aircraft
However, 30 minutes after Nikolai Skulkin took off, he heard a dull explosion coming from the rear side of the aircraft . Subsequently, the engine thrust meter in the cockpit began to swing sharply, and stopped completely at the number 0 in just over ten seconds. Skulkin was keenly aware that the MiG-23M's engine had malfunctioned.
Since the MiG-23M is a single-seat heavy fighter, when its only engine stalls, it is very difficult for the pilot to save it. After several unsuccessful attempts to restart the engine, Nikolai Skulkin reported the situation to the airport and received permission for an emergency parachute.
MiG-23 fighter
Fortunately, the fighter plane had already flown over the Baltic Sea at that time, so Nikolai Skulkin pressed the ejection seat button with confidence. He believed that the MiG-23M would fall directly into the sea and would not cause a catastrophic crash.
Soviet planes invaded, and NATO was facing a formidable enemy.
However, what Skulijin did not expect was that his emergency ejection parachute caused a huge vibration in the fighter plane, and this vibration accidentally caused the engine to complete the restart work. As a result, Skulijin saw a strange scene: after he parachuted, the MiG-23M regained power crookedly and continued to fly towards the west.
The Soviet MiG-23 fighter
Begiz Air Force Base also learned the news through the radar station, which surprised the Soviet commander at the base: According to the trajectory of this MiG-23M, it will almost certainly fly into NATO airspace.
Although the risk of MiG-23M technology leakage is not serious, it is likely to cause misjudgment on the part of NATO, thus triggering a war between the Soviet Union and NATO. As a result, Begiz Air Force Base scrambled to take off two Su-27s, hoping to shoot down the MiG-23M before it flew into NATO airspace.
However, due to lack of time, the Soviet fighter planes did not have time to intercept the unmanned MiG-23M. It first passed through the East German airspace, and then flew directly into the West German airspace.
Soviet Air Force Su-27 fighter jets
At this time, NATO also learned about the Soviet MiG-23M invasion through the border radar station. The NATO Air Force Command immediately felt that it was facing a formidable enemy and dispatched two of the most advanced F-15Es at the time to perform interception missions. They took off from the Soestberg Air Force Base in the Netherlands and caught up with the MiG-23M flying towards the Dutch airspace at the fastest speed.
F15E fighter cockpit interior
Since NATO pilots did not observe external hanging weapons of the MiG-23M, they judged that it might be a defection incident of Soviet pilots.As usual, the NATO F-15E called the MiG-23M by radio, but the MiG-23M never responded.
Out of doubt, one of the F-15Es cautiously approached the fuselage of the MiG-23M. They were surprised to find that the MiG-23M was in an unmanned state and the pilot was missing.
F-15E fighter jet
When the NATO Air Force Command received this information, it also fell into a state of confusion. Planning for the worst possibility, NATO commanders even believed that this might be an unmanned suicide attack launched by the Soviet army, and that the aircraft might be carrying unknown biological and chemical munitions.
However, while the NATO command was still discussing how to handle the matter, the unmanned MiG-23M had entered the Dutch airspace, and its course was gradually shifting southward, and was about to enter the Belgian airspace .
It ended tragically, and the Soviet Union had no choice but to compensate
However, the MiG-23M, which had flown hundreds of kilometers at this time, had gradually exhausted its fuel, and its flight altitude gradually dropped from 11,000 meters to about 7,000 meters, and its speed also slowed down significantly. Judging from its flight status, the NATO Air Force Command determined that this MiG-23M will most likely crash on the border between Belgium and France.
MiG-23 fighter
After the MiG-23M entered Belgian airspace, the French Air Force dispatched Mirage F1 fighters to monitor the MiG-23M, and made the same judgment as the NATO Air Force Command. As a result, NATO countries have lowered their vigilance against the MiG-23M, which is about to lose power. However, no one expected that this accident would end in tragedy due to coincidence.
Phantom F1 fighter
After losing power, the Soviet MiG-23M fighter gradually lowered its altitude and finally crashed near the village of Coychem in the city of Kortrijk in western Belgium. However, when it crashed, it crashed into the home of local farmer De Lal, causing the accidental death of De Lal's 19-year-old son Wim.
At that time, Wim was watching TV in the living room on the first floor of his home, but the falling MiG-23M penetrated the ceiling of the second floor and hit the living room, killing him.
Military plane crash site
After the accident, the Belgian government, the governments of the Netherlands, France, and West Germany jointly lodged a protest with the Soviet Union and demanded an explanation and apology from the Soviet authorities.
In this regard, Soviet Air Force General Brolisva Omelichev could only reluctantly admit that it was the failure of the Soviet military aircraft itself that caused this tragedy, and the Soviet government would bear the main responsibility . In the end, the Soviet government paid US$685,000 in compensation to the families of the victims and expressed regret and condolences to the families.
