The aircraft handling crews were having difficulty keeping their footing as they attempted to secure aircraft sent below at the completion of flight operations. A river of water flowed the length of the hangar deck, mixing with oil and hydraulic fluid, before returning to the open sea from the aft elevator platforms. The constant rolling motion of the mammoth ship sent torrents of icy seawater pouring through open flight deck elevator doors. The Nimitz-class carrier plunged through foaming troughs, sending showers of cold spray over the bow, as dawn began to light the gray sky. The general secretary had made his last trip. Lieutenant Baqir al-Sadr turned away from the inferno, smiled, then dropped the missile launcher down a ventilation shaft.
The Ilyushin-62 crashed on the perimeter of the airport in a horrendous fireball, showering nearby traffic in blazing jet fuel. The lieutenant stared, transfixed, as the huge Aeroflot transport shed an engine, then a wing, and tumbled out of the sky, trailing flaming debris. The thin wisp of the weapon’s exhaust trail blended perfectly into the leaden overcast.Īlmost instantly the quiet morning was shattered by a deafening explosion. The launcher kicked slightly as the projectile arced away, nosed-over for a split second, then curved skyward toward its unsuspecting prey.īaqir al-Sadr lowered the launcher, then watched, fascinated, as the lethal missile pursued the climbing jet. Three seconds later, the militiaman gently squeezed the trigger. What a beautiful flying machine, the Libyan lieutenant said to himself, then took a breath and held it while he waited patiently, watching the transport’s landing gear disappear into the fuselage.
He carefully set the element sight on the Soviet transport and immediately heard the high-pitched screech that indicated the weapon was tracking.
Defcon ratings portable#
An expert in the use of portable air defense missiles, he braced his feet, steadied himself, and aimed the Russian-built SA-14 missile launcher. The stocky Libyan militiaman glanced quickly around the apartment roof, then raised the weapon to his shoulders. Fouad Baqir al-Sadr watched the Aeroflot Ilyushin-62 accelerate down the runway, then climb gracefully into the gray, overcast sky above Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport.