The World - News from March 14, 1988

The Soviet newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda questioned whether officials acted properly by ordering a hijacked Aeroflot TU-154 jetliner to land on Soviet territory, pointing out that nine people, including five hijackers, were killed and 19 were injured while the plane was destroyed when troops stormed the plane. The 11-member family of musicians seized the plane during a domestic flight last Tuesday and demanded to be flown to London. The plane landed near Leningrad after the family was duped into believing it was stopping in Finland to refuel. The newspaper said the hijackers would have faced trial in Britain. “We are entitled to a question: Wasn’t the price too costly for the decision to detain the bandits on our territory?” it asked.