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1993 Sukhumi airliner attacks

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Part of the War in Abkhazia

1993 Sukhumi airliner attacks
Part of War in Abkhazia (1992–1993)
Overview of Sukhumi Airport
LocationSukhumi Babushara Airport, Georgia
Coordinates42°51′29″N 041°07′41″E / 42.85806°N 41.12806°E / 42.85806; 41.12806
Date20–23 September 1993
1993 Sukhumi airliner attacks
Occurrence
Date20–23 September 1993
SummaryShoot down, destroyed on the ground
SiteGeorgia, Black Sea
Total fatalities136
Total survivors53
First aircraft

The crashed aircraft in Aeroflot livery
TypeTupolev Tu-134A-3
OperatorTransair Georgia
Registration4L-65893
Flight originSochi Airport
DestinationSukhumi-Babusheri Airport
Passengers22
Crew5
Fatalities27 (all)
Survivors0
Second aircraft

A Orbi Georgian Airways Tu-154B, similar to the aircraft involved in the accident
TypeTupolev Tu-154B
OperatorOrbi Georgian Airways
Registration4L-85163
Flight originNovo Alexeyevka Airport
DestinationSukhumi-Babusheri Airport
Passengers120
Crew12
Fatalities108
Survivors24
Third aircraft

A Tupolev Tu-134A similar to the accident aircraft
TypeTupolev Tu-134A
OperatorTransair Georgia
Registration4L-65001
Flight originSukhumi-Babusheri Airport
DestinationNovo Alexeyevka Airport
Passengers24
Crew6
Fatalities1
Survivors29

From 20 to 23 September 1993, during the Sukhumi massacre, separatists in Sukhumi, Abkhazia blocked Georgian troops' overland supply routes as part of the war in Abkhazia. In response, the Georgian government used Sukhumi Babushara Airport to ferry supplies to troops stationed in Sukhumi. Abkhaz forces attacked the airport in an attempt to further block the supply routes.

During the siege of the airport, five civilian airliners belonging to Transair Georgia and Orbi Georgian Airways were hit by missiles allegedly fired by separatists in Sukhumi. Over 130 people died in the attacks.

20 September

Two Orbi Georgian Airways' Tupolev Tu-134As (registration 4L-65808 and 4L-65809) were destroyed by Abkhaz small arms fire or missiles with no casualties.

21 September

A Transair Тu-134А-3 (built in 1975 with registration 4L-65893 and factory number 5340120) was flying to Sukhumi from Sochi International Airport. The crew consisted of captain Geras Georgievich Tabuev, first officer Otar Grigorievich Shengelia, navigator Sergey Alexandrovich Shah, flight engineer Vladimir Vasilievich Nazarko, as well as two flight attendants; Ketevan Shalvovna Kvaratsheliya and Olga Mikhailovna Morgunova. Тhe 22 passengers were mainly journalists. At 16:25, at an altitude of 980 feet (300 m), the aircraft was hit on approach to Sukhumi-Babusheri Airport by a Strela 2 surface-to-air missile. The missile had been fired from an Abkhaz boat commanded by Toriy Achba. The plane crashed into the Black Sea, killing all five crew members and 22 passengers. Other sources reported 28 people on board (six crew members and 22 passengers).

22 September

An Orbi Georgian Airways Tu-154B aircraft (built in 1976 with registration 4L-85163 and factory number 76А-163) flying from Tbilisi and carrying civilians and internal security forces was on approach to Sukhumi-Babusheri Airport when it was struck by surface-to-air missiles. The plane crash-landed on the airstrip; the ensuing fire killed 108 of the 132 passengers and crew, making the incident the deadliest aviation disaster to occur in Georgia. Georgian media claimed that the flight was carrying refugees, but there was no factual evidence to back up these claims.

Another Tu-154 was attacked later in the evening, but landed safely.

23 September

Passengers were boarding a Transair Tu-134A (built in 1975 with registrations 4L-65001 and factory number 42235) at Sukhumi when it was struck by rockets from an Abkhaz BM-21 Grad rocket launcher. It caught fire and burned, leaving one crew member dead. The aircraft was due to operate a Sukhumi-Tbilisi service.

On the same day, an ORBI Tu-154 (registration 4L-85359) was reportedly destroyed by mortar or artillery fire.

References

  1. ^ Zhirokhov, Michael (21 January 2005). "Авиация в абхазском конфликте" [Aviation in the Abkhaz conflict] (in Russian). Corner of the sky. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  2. ^ "Violations of the Laws of War and Russia's Role in the Conflict". Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  3. Ranter, Harro. "Georgia air safety profile". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  4. Ranter, Harro. "Aircraft accident Tupolev 134A 65809 Sukhumi-Babusheri Airport (SUI)". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  5. ^ "Ад в раю. Часть 4. Последний штурм Сухуми. Хроника" [Hell in paradise. Part 4. The last assault on Sukhumi. Chronicle] (in Russian). ArtOfWar. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  6. "Последний день Сухуми" [The last day of Sukhumi] (in Russian). 15 April 1993. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  7. "Катастрофа Ту-154 в Сухуми" [Катастрофа Ту-154 в Сухуми]. www.kommersant.ru (in Russian). 24 September 1993. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  8. Ranter, Harro. "Aircraft accident Tupolev 154B 85163 Sukhumi-Babusheri Airport (SUI)". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  9. "Абхазы сбивают самолёт с грузинскими беженцами" [Abkhazians shoot down a plane with Georgian refugees]. YouTube (in Russian). 26 February 2012. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  10. "Был Сбит Гражданский самолёт с Грузинскими Беженцами на борту пытавшимися улететь из Сухуми" [A civilian plane with Georgian Refugees on board was shot down while trying to fly from Sukhumi]. YouTube (in Russian). 1 July 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  11. ^ "Катастрофа Ту-154 в Сухуми. Ракетные атаки на Сухумский аэропорт продолжаются" [Accident of Tu-154 at Sukhumi. Missile attacks on Sukhumi airport continue]. Kommersant (in Russian). 24 September 1993. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  12. Ranter, Harro. "Aircraft accident Tupolev 154B-2 85359 Sukhumi-Babusheri Airport (SUI)". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
Abkhaz–Georgian conflict
Key events
Abkhazian side
Military forces
Key leaders
Georgian side
Military forces
Key leaders
See also
Tupolev Tu-16 family
Military
Civilian
Foreign
production
Xi'an
(China)
NATO
reporting names
Topics
Aviation accidents and incidents in 1993 (1993)
Jan 6 Lufthansa Cityline Flight 5634Feb 8 Tehran mid-air collisionFeb 11 Lufthansa Flight 592Mar 5 Palair Macedonian Airlines Flight 301Mar 31 Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 46EApr 1 Alan Kulwicki Swearingen crashApr 6 China Eastern Airlines Flight 583Apr 14 American Airlines Flight 102Apr 18 Japan Air System Flight 451Apr 24 Indian Airlines Flight 427Apr 26 Indian Airlines Flight 491Apr 27 Zambia national football team plane crashMay 19 SAM Colombia Flight 501Jul 1 Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 724Jul 23 China Northwest Airlines Flight 2119Jul 26 Asiana Airlines Flight 733Jul 31 Everest Air Dornier 228 crashAug 12 Llyn Padarn helicopter crashAug 18 American International Airways Flight 808Aug 26 Sakha Avia Flight 301Aug 28 Khorog Tajikistan Airlines Yakovlev Yak-40 crashSep 14 Lufthansa Flight 2904Sep 21 Sukhumi airliners attacksOct 26 China Eastern Airlines Flight 5398Oct 27 Widerøe Flight 744Nov 4 China Airlines Flight 605Nov 13 China Northern Airlines Flight 6901Nov 20 Avioimpex Flight 110Nov 26 Auckland mid-air collisionDec 1 Northwest Airlink Flight 5719Dec 26 Kuban Airlines Flight 5719
1992   ◄    ►   1994
Aviation accidents and incidents in Georgia (country)
Georgian SSR
Georgia
This includes accidents in the Georgian SSR and post-independence Georgia
* refers to accidents and incidents that took place in Abkhazia.
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