Viktor Belenko Defects to the West

Date: September 6, 1976 • Location: Hakodate, Japan

Soviet pilot Viktor Belenko landed his MiG-25 in Hakodate, Japan, declaring his intention to defect to the West.

Viktor Ivanovich Belenko was a Soviet-born American aerospace engineer and pilot who defected in 1976 to the West while flying his MiG-25 "Foxbat" jet interceptor and landed in Hakodate, Japan. George H. W. Bush, the Director of Central Intelligence at the time, called the opportunity to examine the plane up close an "intelligence bonanza" for the West. Belenko later became a U.S. aerospace engineer.