On 1517 August 1968, The pilots of nine Syrian MiG-17s and three MiG-21s defected to Iraq after failing in a coup attempt.
On 14 June 1976, A Palestinian pilot in the Syrian Air Force, Flight Lieutenant Mahmoud Musleh Yasin, defected to Iraq with his MiG-23 Flogger.
On 27 July 1976, Syrian pilot Captain Abdul Qadar Al-Termanini, the "October war" hero, defected to Iraq with his MiG-21 fighter jet.
On 11 October 1989, Syrian pilot Abdel Bassem landed his MiG-23ML in Israel.
Dude knew he’s about to soon face the Israeli Air Force and didn’t want to die.
They’re still using MiG-21’s? They would be about as effective as Nieuport 17’s against today’s Israeli Air Force.
Ping
Correction:
The pilot’s name is Col. Hassan Merei al-Hamade and he has been granted asylum on humanitarian grounds.
He is a big fish, head of pilot training.