The Escape from Bucharest

On the afternoon of 19-th of May 1978, one Britten Norman Two-BN-2, Red Cross aircraft from CIPA fleet Bucharest Baneasa airport headed for Germany. At the controls and flying a plane for the first time in their lives were two aircraft mecahnics, George Florescu and Viorel Nichols .The mission for which they self prepared in absolute secrecy was to reach Munich flying over the Crapathians and over the Alps. It was to become the most famous escape from the eastern communist world to the western capitalist world. For the first time Viorel Nichols the author of The Escape from Bucharest gathers together the voices of those who were in charge of the pursuit and those who were left behind the amazing escape. Surly Viorel and George are not on death wish flight. They truly believed that with Ceausescu out of the country no one will have the guts to assume total responsability for shooting down the Red Cross aircraft. George and Viorel were bitterly wrong when they thought so .