MOSCOW, November 11. /TASS/. The pilot could have not landed the hijacked MiG-31 jet alone, renowned military pilot Andrey Gribov said.
"It is impossible for the second pilot to land the jet alone. The landing is simply impossible; it would lead to a catastrophe," he said in a video published by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).
According to the FSB press office, the Ukrainian and UK special services planned to hijack a Russian MiG-31 jet with a Kinzhal hypersonic missile in the fall of 2024. They tried to recruit a pilot, who reported them to his command. Together with Russian counterintelligence, the serviceman played along to find out more about the enemy’s plot.
"There are two places in the jet: one for the crew’s commander, a pilot, and the second for the jet navigator, who can also pilot the aircraft to some extent in case the crew commander is knocked unconscious," Gribov added.
According to the security services' plan, the Russian pilot was supposed to poison his crew commander by applying toxic substances to his oxygen mask. Then, he was supposed to fly the aircraft toward a NATO base in Romania.