Nguyễn Thành Trung (pilot)

Trung served in the VPAF until 1990, when he became a pilot for Vietnam Airlines, the flag carrier for Vietnam, eventually serving as vice president of the airline. Trung was a supporter of Vietnam Airlines purchasing American aircraft and became the first Vietnamese pilot to be certified to fly a Boeing 777. In 2005, Trung piloted a Vietnam Airlines 777 carrying Vietnamese President Trần Đức Lương to the United States for an 11-day diplomatic tour. During the trip, Trung expressed a desire for closer ties between the American and Vietnamese aviation industries.

By 1975 Trung had returned to Vietnam and was conducting training missions with newer pilots, holding the rank of First lieutenant and commanding a squadron of ground attack aircraft. The South Vietnamese military situation continued to deteriorate, with North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces advancing on Saigon in April 1975. However, in early April a South Vietnamese counterattack captured a North Vietnamese Intelligence officer who revealed that several North Vietnamese agents were operating around Saigon, including an unnamed officer - Trung - at Bến Tre Air Force Base. Fearing that Trung's identity would be uncovered, his handlers ordered him to stage his defection, preferably with an aircraft but on foot if necessary.

Trung enrolled in Saigon University of Science in 1965, pursuing three bachelor's degrees. He also became tangentially involved with Viet Cong activity in Saigon at this time. Trung was continuing his education when in 1968 the Tet Offensive occurred, disrupting Saigon and causing South Vietnam to increase conscription requirements. The South Vietnam Air Force (VNAF) was particularly interested in recruiting college students into the air force; according to Vietnamese records, this requirement spurred the North Vietnamese to recruit left-leaning college students into the Communist Party of Vietnam in the hope they could be used to infiltrate the VNAF. Trung became one of the students recruited by the North Vietnamese, being officially inducted into the communist party the day before he volunteered for service with the VNAF in 1969.

Nguyễn Thành Trung (born 1947) is a Vietnamese military and civilian aviator. Trung fought during the Vietnam War and later became an executive of Vietnam Airlines.

Trung was born in Châu Thành District, Bến Tre Province in 1947. Trung's father was a local politician who eventually rose to be deputy secretary of Chau Thanh's communist party. In 1954 Vietnam was partitioned into North and South Vietnam, leading to the ruling parties of both nations conducting a purge of their political enemies. As part of these purges, in 1963 the South Vietnamese commandos killed Trung's father and arrested his mother; the rest of the family were subjected to intimidation and had their homes burned. After this event, Trung adopted the surname Nguyễn to avoid further reprisals. According to his later accounts, the death of his father left Trung with a seething hatred of the South Vietnamese government.

Upon entering air force service, Trung trained for two years in Nha Trang before being sent by the VNAF to train in the United States, including a two year long stay in Texas. He proved to be a well-regarded pilot, ranking 2nd out of a class of 40 VNAF officers sent to train in the United States. While in the US, Trung was able to remain in contact with his North Vietnamese handlers, successfully recording technical information on American aircraft and tactics in personal correspondence he mailed back to Vietnam.