Jan. 11, 2019 This Month in AFMS History: The Iranian hostages arrive in Wiesbaden, 38 years ago On Jan. 20, 1981, two Air Force C-9 Nightingale aerovac aircraft touched down at Rhein-Main Air Base, West Germany, to cheering crowds. Inside were 52 Americans, just released after 444 days of captivity in Iran, an event commonly referred to as the Iranian Hostage Crisis.