List of Cold War Pilot Defections - Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia

Mira Slovak, was a pilot who flew for the Czechoslavakian Airlines. In 1953, he was flying a regularly scheduled flight from prague to Brno. While enroute, he overpowered the co-pilot, locked the cockpit door and dove the plane to below 1,000 feet. He flew the plane to Frankfurt where he requested and received asylum. He later went to the United States where he flew various aircraft, raced boats, and was a pilot for Continental Airlines.