1987 an 18 year old west german pilot mathias rust evades sovie 05 28
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1987 39 years ago Selected Events May 28 3 sources

Mathias Rust, a West German aviator, flew his Cessna 172 from Helsinki, Finland, through Soviet air defences, landing illegally near Red Square in Moscow.

On May 28, in the year 1987, Mathias Rust, a West German aviator, flew his Cessna 172 from Helsinki, Finland, through Soviet air defences, landing illegally near Red Square in Moscow. This event is recorded as a Selected Events event in the history of May 28, one of 374 recorded events on this date across all of history.

Mathias Rust is a German aviator. In 1987, as a teenage amateur pilot, he flew from Helsinki, Finland, to Moscow, without authorization. According to Russian claims, he was tracked several times by Soviet Air Defence Forces and civilian air traffic controllers, as well as Soviet Air Force interceptor aircraft. The Soviet fighters did not receive permission to shoot him down, and his aeroplane was mistaken for a friendly aircraft several times. Also, 28 May 1987 was Border Guards Day, leaving many guards distracted. He landed on Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge, next to Red Square near the Kremlin in the capital of the USSR.

Key Facts

  • This event took place on May 28, 1987 (AD era).
  • It is categorised as a Selected Events event in recorded history.
  • Referenced in 3 Wikipedia articles.
  • Wikipedia source last updated on 15 May 2026.

On This Date in History 374

Type Year Date Event
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Notable Deaths 2022 May 28 Patricia Brake, English actress (born 1942)
Notable Deaths 2021 May 28 Mark Eaton, American basketball player (born 1957)
Notable Deaths 2018 May 28 Neale Cooper, Scottish footballer (born 1963)
Notable Deaths 2018 May 28 Jens Christian Skou, Danish medical doctor and Nobel Prize laureate (born 1918)
Notable Deaths 2018 May 28 Cornelia Frances, English-Australian actress (born 1941)
Historical Events 2017 May 28 Former Formula One driver Takuma Sato wins his first Indianapolis 500, the first Japanese and Asian driver to do so
Historical Events 2016 May 28 Harambe, a gorilla, is shot to death after grabbing a three-year-old boy in his enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo and Bota
Notable Deaths 2016 May 28 Harambe, Cincinnati Zoo western lowland gorilla (born 1999)
Selected Events 2016 May 28 Harambe was shot and killed after grabbing a three-year-old boy in his enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gar
Notable Deaths 2015 May 28 Steven Gerber, American pianist and composer (born 1948)
Notable Deaths 2015 May 28 Johnny Keating, Scottish trombonist, composer, and producer (born 1927)
Notable Deaths 2015 May 28 Reynaldo Rey, American actor and screenwriter (born 1940)
Notable Deaths 2014 May 28 Maya Angelou, American memoirist and poet (born 1928)
Notable Deaths 2014 May 28 Stan Crowther, English footballer (born 1935)
Notable Deaths 2014 May 28 Oscar Dystel, American publisher (born 1912)
Notable Deaths 2014 May 28 Malcolm Glazer, American businessman (born 1928)
Notable Deaths 2014 May 28 Bob Houbregs, Canadian-American basketball player and manager (born 1932)
Notable Deaths 2014 May 28 Isaac Kungwane, South African footballer (born 1971)
Historical Events 2013 May 28 Start of the Gezi Park protests in Turkey
Notable Deaths 2013 May 28 Viktor Kulikov, Russian commander (born 1921)
Notable Deaths 2013 May 28 Eddie Romero, Filipino director, producer, screenwriter, and National Artist for Cinema and Broadcast Arts (born 1924)
Notable Deaths 2013 May 28 Gerd Schmückle, German general (born 1917)
Historical Events 2012 May 28 The Arkankergen massacre in Kazakhstan's Alakol District kills 15 people
Notable Deaths 2012 May 28 Bob Edwards, English journalist (born 1925)
Notable Deaths 2012 May 28 Yuri Susloparov, Ukrainian-Russian footballer and manager (born 1958)
Historical Events 2011 May 28 Malta votes on the introduction of divorce; the proposal was approved by 53% of voters, resulting in a law allowing divo
Notable Deaths 2011 May 28 Gino Valenzano, Italian racing driver (born 1920)
Historical Events 2010 May 28 In West Bengal, India, the Jnaneswari Express train derailment and subsequent collision kills 148 passengers
Notable Deaths 2010 May 28 Gary Coleman, American actor (born 1968)
Selected Events 2010 May 28 A train derailment and collision in the West Midnapore district of West Bengal, India, caused the deaths of at least 148
Historical Events 2008 May 28 The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly of Nepal formally declares Nepal a republic, ending the 240-year reign of
Notable Deaths 2008 May 28 Beryl Cook, English painter and illustrator (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2007 May 28 Jörg Immendorff, German painter, sculptor, and academic (born 1945)
Notable Deaths 2007 May 28 Toshikatsu Matsuoka, Japanese politician, Japanese Minister of Agriculture (born 1945)
Notable Deaths 2006 May 28 Thorleif Schjelderup, Norwegian ski jumper and author (born 1920)
Historical Events 2004 May 28 The Iraqi Governing Council chooses Ayad Allawi, a longtime anti-Saddam Hussein exile, as prime minister of Iraq's inter
Notable Deaths 2004 May 28 Michael Buonauro, American author and illustrator (born 1979)
Notable Deaths 2004 May 28 John Tolos, Greek-Canadian wrestler (born 1930)
Historical Events 2003 May 28 Peter Hollingworth resigns as Governor-General of Australia following criticism of his handling of child sexual abuse al
Notable Deaths 2003 May 28 Oleg Grigoryevich Makarov, Russian engineer and astronaut (born 1933)
Notable Deaths 2003 May 28 Ilya Prigogine, Russian-Belgian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1917)
Notable Deaths 2003 May 28 Martha Scott, American actress (born 1912)
Historical Events 2002 May 28 The last steel girder is removed from the original World Trade Center site
Notable Deaths 2002 May 28 Ebrahim Al-Arrayedh, Indian poet and author (born 1908)
Notable Deaths 2002 May 28 Mildred Benson, American journalist and author (born 1905)
Selected Events 2002 May 28 An independent commission appointed by the Football Association voted two-to-one to allow Wimbledon F
Notable Deaths 2001 May 28 Joe Moakley, American lawyer and politician (born 1927)
Notable Deaths 2001 May 28 Francisco Varela, Chilean biologist and philosopher (born 1946)
Notable Births 2000 May 28 Phil Foden, English footballer

This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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