Syria Air Force colonel becomes first pilot to defect by landing his MiG-21 fighter jet in Jordan

  • Colonel Hassan Hamada landed in Jordan at 11am
  • Follows defection of thousands of soldiers

By
Daily Mail Reporter

06:57 EST, 21 June 2012

|

12:51 EST, 21 June 2012

America called for more military defections from Syria today after a fighter pilot flew to Jordan and was given political asylum.

It was the first defection by a member of Syria’s air force during the 15-month uprising against President Assad.

It is seen as a propaganda coup for the rebels because the air force has been viewed as fiercely loyal to the Assad regime

Defection: The Russian-made MiG-21 that a pilot landed with in the King Hussein military base in Mafraq in northern Jordan today

Defection: The Russian-made MiG-21 that a pilot landed with in the King Hussein military base in Mafraq in northern Jordan today

Washington ‘welcomed’ the defection and said it ‘would not be the last’.

Syria denounced the airman, Colonel
Hassan Hammadeh, 44, as a traitor and demanded their jet back – an
elderly Russian-made Mig 21.

Jordan said it had allowed the pilot
to stay on ‘humanitarian grounds’ though it is anxious to avoid being
drawn into the Syrian conflict.

It already has taken in 125,000 Syrian
refugees, including hundreds of army and police defectors, and Syria is
seeking their extradition.

Opposition sources said he had smuggled his family to Turkey before his dramatic defection.

‘He (the pilot) requested political asylum in Jordan. He is being debriefed at the moment,’ Jordanian Minister of State for Information Samih al-Maaytah said.

Destruction: The conflict continues in Syria, but thousands of soldiers have already deserted Assad's army

Destruction: The conflict continues in Syria, but thousands of soldiers have already deserted Assad’s army

A Jordanian security source said the
pilot flew from al-Dumair military airport northeast of Damascus and
landed at the at King Hussein Airbase at 11am.

King
Hussein Airbase, named after the country’s late monarch, is a military
airport situated near the border with Syria, 50 miles northeast of the
capital Amman.

Syrian state television named the pilot as Colonel Hassan Hamada.

It said communications were lost with his plane at 10.34am while he was on a training mission near the border with Jordan.

A Jordanian official described the defection as ‘difficult to handle’, referring to Amman’s nervousness over possible a Syrian military reaction after months of border tension between the two countries.

It has been ignited by thousands of Syrians fleeing a crackdown on the revolt to Jordan.

Here’s what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts,
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The comments below have not been moderated.

Give the plane back, after wiring the ejector seat to the fire button.

– Frank, Dalkey, 21/6/2012 21:55
Where do you live Frank, do you need help escaping evil Western lifestyle.
There are lots of evil do gooding groups that will assist your escape and I’m sure that any patriotic Westerner will chip in to get rid of you.
By leaving you are raising Western IQ and that of your new friends in Syria.

“I hope they hand back this plane back to its rightful owners. I am sick of reading all this Globalist NATO pro American (New World Order) Propaganda.”
– Frank, Dalkey, 21/6/2012 21:55
Thats because your name isnt really Frank and you are getting paid to write comments like this

Greetings

That’s not a MIG-21 it’s Ryan Air’s latest luxury 400-passenger airliner being delivered ……

Mig 21 old? Have you never flown with Jet 2???

I hope they hand back this plane back to its rightful owners. I am sick of reading all this Globalist NATO pro American (New World Order) Propaganda.

If only it had been a drone, now that would be a story.

Go on Assad. Please attack Jordan and then you will be wiped out by the West.

This plane is obsolete for aerial combat against modern airforces, but it will do exactly what it says on the tin to unarmed and unarmored civilians. That said it is still old enough to qualify for an AARP membership .

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