List of Cold War Pilot Defections - Libya

Libya

• Shortly before the Libyan–Egyptian War (1977), a Libyan cadet pilot defected in small single-engine Socata Rallye by flying to Egypt.
• On 11 February 1981 A Libyan Air Force Captain pilot flying a MiG-23 defected from Libya by flying to Crete, Greece. The pilot claimed that the reason for his defection was the suspicion of his attempt to commandeer a Libyan C-130 carrying 19 Libyan army officers sentenced to death and fly them to Greece. The attempt failed, and sometime later, he became a suspect when Libyan military intelligence found out about his (failed) attempt. The pilot has graduated from Yugoslav Air Force Academy. The aircraft was later returned to Libya on February 14.
• There were a number of defections to Egypt in 1987. First on March 2, a crew of five defected in a C-130 with two of the officers asking for political asylum. Then on March 29, three officers defected on a CH-47 Chinook, while finally on July 16 three more officers defected, this time in a Mil Mi-8.
• 8 July 1992 A pilot flying a MiG-23 defected from Libya to Maleme Air Base in Crete, Greece. The aircraft overshot the runway, crashed in a field and caught fire. The pilot Capt. Jamal Salah al-Kabui managed to crawl out of the cockpit before the plane was engulfed in flames.