Siberia Airlines Flight 1812

2001 accidental commercial airliner shootdown incident

Siberia Airlines Flight 1812
Occurrence
RA-85693, the aircraft involved in the accident at Hannover Airport in 2000
Date	4 October 2001
Summary	Accidental shootdown by Ukrainian S-200 missile
Site	Black Sea 42°11′N 37°37′E / 42.183°N 37.617°E / 42.183; 37.617
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Tupolev Tu-154M
Operator	Siberia Airlines
Registration	RA-85693
Flight origin	Ben Gurion Airport Tel Aviv, Israel
Destination	Tolmachevo Airport Novosibirsk, Russia
Occupants	78
Passengers	66
Crew	12
Fatalities	78
Survivors	0

Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 was a commercial flight shot down by the Ukrainian Air Force over the Black Sea on 4 October 2001, en route from Tel Aviv, Israel, to Novosibirsk, Russia. The aircraft, a Soviet-made Tupolev Tu-154, carried 66 passengers and 12 crew members. Most of the passengers were Israelis visiting relatives in Russia. There were no survivors. The crash site is about 190 km west-southwest of the Black Sea resort of Sochi, 140 km north of the Turkish coastal town of Fatsa and 350 km south-southeast of Feodosiya in Crimea. The crash was caused by a missile launched during joint Ukrainian-Russian military air-defence exercises at the Russian-controlled training ground of the 31st Russian Black Sea Fleet Research center on Cape Opuk near the city of Kerch in Crimea. Ukraine eventually admitted that it might have caused the crash, probably by an errant S-200 missile fired by its armed forces. Ukraine paid $15 million to surviving family members of the 78 victims ($200,000 per victim).

History

Flight 1812 departed Tel Aviv with a destination of Novosibirsk. It proceeded at an altitude of 36,000 feet (11,000 m) over the Black Sea when the Russian ground control center in Sochi suddenly lost contact with the airliner. Soon afterward, the pilot of an Armenian plane crossing the sea nearby reported seeing the Russian plane explode before it crashed into the sea at about 13:45 Moscow time (09:45 GMT). Most of the passengers were Israelis visiting their relatives in Russia. No one on board survived.

A national day of mourning was instituted in Israel with a moment of silence, flags at half-mast and schools teaching special lessons on the tragedy. A monument to the victims was built in Ben Shemen forest in Israel.

Tel Aviv Ben Gurion

Crash site

Novosibirsk International Airportclass=notpageimage| Location of crash site; departure and destination airports

Occurring less than a month after the September 11 attacks in the United States, the crash was initially suspected by Russian officials to be an act of terrorism, and they denied American reports that it was caused by an S-200 missile. Later, the Moscow-based Interstate Aviation Committee ruled that the crash was caused by an accidental Ukrainian S-200 missile strike during military training exercises staged off Cape Opuk in Crimea.

Initial private assessments by American military officials determined that the crash was caused by an S-200 missile that had overshot its target drone—which had been destroyed successfully by an S-300 fired at the same time—and instead of self-destructing, locked on the passenger plane about 250 kilometres (160 mi) further away and detonated 15 metres (50 ft) over the plane.

Russian officials dismissed the American claim as "unworthy of attention," and Russian president Vladimir Putin told the press the next day that "the weapons used in those exercises had such characteristics that make it impossible for them to reach the air corridor through which the plane was moving." Ukrainian military officials initially denied that their missile had brought down the plane; they reported that the S-200 had been launched seaward and had successfully self-destructed. Defense ministry spokesman Konstantin Khivrenko noted that "neither the direction nor the range (of the missiles) correspond to the practical or theoretical point at which the plane exploded."

However, some Ukrainian officials later admitted that their military had probably shot down the airliner. Ukrainian officials speculated that water interference caused the missile to veer off course. Ukraine reportedly banned the testing of Buk, S-300 and similar missile systems for a period of seven years following this incident.

On 7 October 2001, it was reported that the main fuselage of the aircraft, believed to contain the black box recorder, was thought to be at a depth of 1,000 metres (3,300 ft), which was too deep for divers to retrieve.

Crew

Captain: Evgeny Viktorovich Garov, 42 (Russian: Евгений Викторович Гаров)
First Officer: Boris Alexandrovich Levchugov, 37 (Russian: Борис Александрович Левчугов)
Flight Engineer: Valery Glebovich Laptev, 37 (Russian: Валерий Глебович Лаптев)
Second Flight Engineer: Sergei Ivanovich Lebedinskiy, 37 (Russian: Сергей Иванович Лебединский)
Navigator: Konstantin Yurievich Revtov, 42 (Russian: Константин Юрьевич Ревтов)
Flight Technician: Konstantin Petrovich Shcherbakov, 37 (Russian: Константин Петрович Щербаков)
Flight Inspector: Viktor Viktorovich Alekseev, 52 (Russian: Виктор Викторович Алексеев)
Senior Flight Attendant: Vladimir Dmitrievich Khomyakov, 51 (Russian: Владимир Дмитриевич Хомяков)
Flight Attendant: Natalya Georgievna Kostenko, 45 (Russian: Наталья Георгиевна Костенко)
Flight Attendant: Alexander Gennadievich Savich, 35 (Russian: Александр Геннадиевич Савич)
Flight Attendant: Elena Vladimirovna Gusarova, 32 (Russian: Елена Владимировна Гусарова)
Flight Attendant: Igor Viktorovich Voronkov, 42 (Russian: Игорь Викторович Воронков)

Compensation payments

Israeli citizens

On 20 November 2003, an ex gratia compensation agreement was signed between the governments of Ukraine and Israel. It was later ratified by the relatives of the victims. In addition to compensation issues, the agreement stated that "Ukraine is not legally responsible for the accident that occurred to the plane and free of any obligations regarding it." Commenting on the agreement, Gen. Oleksandr Kuz'muk, the former minister of defense who lost his job after the accident, told media that "the payments were a humane action, not the admission of guilt."

Russian citizens

Ukraine agreed to pay the families of each of the 38 Russian victims the sum of $200,000, the same amount that it had paid to the families of the 40 Israeli victims. The settlement was ratified by the Russian parliament in May 2004 and President Vladimir Putin signed it into law in June 2004.

Additional compensation claims

Pechersk local court

Some relatives of the crash victims refused to accept the compensation offered by Ukraine. They brought a civil suit against the Ukrainian government to Pechers'ky local court in Kyiv. During the court hearings, Ministry of Defence of Ukraine representatives stated that the airplane "could not be brought down by a Ukrainian missile" according to the forensic examination of the plane's debris, radar information and technical capabilities of the missiles. They also argued that the Soviet-made identification friend or foe system of the missile in question would have prevented it from striking the Soviet-made airliner. The lawyer representing the plaintiffs argued that the fault of the Ukrainian government was effectively proven by the fact that it had negotiated the compensations for relatives of the Israeli victims.

Appeals in courts

On 22 August 2007, a Kyiv appeals court dismissed the victims' relatives' suit against the defence ministry, ruling that military of Ukraine bore no liability for the accident. The court decision conflicts with report of the IAC group that had investigated the accident on Russia's behalf.

Siberian Airlines lawsuit

Between 2003 and 2005, the Ukrainian government paid $15.6 million in compensation to the relatives of the victims. In 2004, Siberian Airlines filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine and the Ukraine State Treasury at a Kyiv court, seeking more than $15.3 million in compensation for the loss of the jet. However, in September 2011 the Kyiv Interregional Commercial Court of Appeal rejected a compensation claim from Siberian Airlines. An appeal to Kyiv's Economic Court of Appeals was rejected in May 2012. The ruling was further upheld in December 2012 by Ukraine's Supreme Commercial Court. As of January 2013, the court proceedings continued, but they were disrupted by the Maidan protests.

Memorial services

Memorial services were held in Israel, Sochi and Novosibirsk.

References

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Yanina Vaskovskaya (15 October 2001). "We Hit". Novaya Gazeta. Archived from the original on 8 May 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
Ben Aris (13 October 2001). "Ukraine admits it shot down Russian airliner". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 9 April 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
^ "Israel, Ukraine sign agreement on compensation for Russian jet victims". Haaretz. AP. 20 November 2003. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
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"Black Sea crash wreckage located". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC. 5 October 2001. Archived from the original on 24 December 2006. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
Attila Shumpleby (3 October 2002). "Rally: Change the victims of the disaster in the Black Sea". www.ynet.co.il. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
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Maura Reynolds (6 October 2001). "Clues, Remains Sought in Siberian Airlines Crash". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 25 July 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
"Ukrainians Shift Stance on the Cause of Air Crash". Archived from the original on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
Cogan Schneier (17 July 2014). "History shows passenger plane shootdowns often mistakes". USA Today. Archived from the original on 4 March 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
"Kyiv Court Dismisses Appeal Over Shot Down Tu-154". 28 May 2012. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
Sabrina Tavernise (7 October 2001). "Ukrainians Shift Stance on the Cause of Air Crash". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
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^ Alan Philips and Andrew Sparrow, "Airliner blasted out of sky" Daily Telegraph (October, 2001).
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"Accidental Firing May Have Downed Russian Plane". ABC News. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
"Ukraine admits it shot down Russian airliner". www.telegraph.co.uk. The Telegraph. 13 October 2001. Archived from the original on 9 April 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
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^ Российский "Ту-154" сбили не мы (in Ukrainian)
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В России и Израиле вспоминали погибших в авиакатастрофе 2001 года Archived 18 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine 4 Oct 2011

External links

(in Russian) Investigation. Interstate Aviation Committee.
Criminal Occurrence description at the Aviation Safety Network
Canadian TV reporting on the unscheduled stopover at Burgas, Bulgaria.

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in the Russian Federation in the 2000s
2001	Omsk An-70 crash (January 2001) Vladivostok Air Flight 352 (July 2001) Grozny Mi-8 crash (September 2001) Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 (October 2001) IRS Aero Flight 9601/02 (November 2001) Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Flight 9064 (December 2001)
2002	Shelkovskaya Mi-8 crash (January 2002) Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise Flight 9560 (July 2002) Khankala Mi-26 crash (August 2002)
2004	Russian aircraft bombings (August 2004)
2005	Regional Airlines Flight 9288 (March 2005)
2006	Armavia Flight 967 (May 2006) S7 Airlines Flight 778 (July 2006)
2007	UTair Flight 471 (March 2007) Shatoy Mi-8 crash (April 2007)
2008	Moskovia Airlines Flight 9675 (May 2008) Aeroflot Flight 821 (September 2008)
2009	Makhachkala Il-76 collision (January 2009) Yakutia Il-76 crash (November 2009)
1990–1999 ◄ 2000–2009 ► 2010–2019

Aviation accidents and incidents in Ukraine

Ukrainian SSR
(1919–1991)

1950s	Kiev mid-air collision (August 1957) Aeroflot Flight 315 (November 1959)
1960s	Aeroflot Flight 315 (February 1960) Aeroflot Flight 036 (August 1960) Aeroflot Flight N-826 (August 1969)
1970s	Aeroflot Flight 3630 (September 1970) Aeroflot Flight 1969 (March 1971) Malév Flight 110 (September 1971) Aeroflot Flight N-63 (November 1971) Aeroflot Flight 1491 (May 1972) Aeroflot Flight 1802 (May 1976) Aeroflot Flight N-36 (December 1976) Dniprodzerzhynsk mid-air collision (August 1979)
1980s	Zolochiv mid-air collision (May 1985) Aeroflot Flight N-528 (June 1987)

Ukraine
(1991–)

1990s	Borodianka mid-air collision (February 1995)
2000s	Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 (October 2001) Sknyliv air show disaster (July 2002) Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise Flight 612 (August 2006)
2010s	South Airlines Flight 8971 (February 2013) Ukrainian Air Force Il-76 shootdown (June 2014) Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (July 2014) Ukraine Air Alliance Flight 4050 (October 2019)
2020s	Chuhuiv An-26 crash (September 2020) Brovary helicopter crash (January 2023)

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in Turkey
1950s	Air France Flight 152 (August 1953) Bursa airplane crash (July 1957) Air Charter Turkey crash (April 1959)
1960s	Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 871 (January 1960) Turkish Airlines Flight 835 (September 1961) Turkish Airlines Taurus Mountains crash (March 1962) Ankara mid-air collision (February 1963)
1970s	Turkish Airlines Adana crash (January 1972) Turkish Airlines Flight 301 (January 1974) Turkish Airlines Flight 345 (January 1975) Turkish Airlines Flight 452 (September 1976) Turkish Airlines Ankara crash (December 1979)
1980s	Turkish Airlines Flight 158 (January 1983) Condor Flugdienst Flight 3782 (January 1988)
1990s	Turkish Airlines Flight 278 (December 1994) Turkish Airlines Flight 5904 (April 1999)
2000s	Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 (October 2001) Turkish Airlines Flight 634 (January 2003) Ukrainian-Mediterranean Airlines Flight 4230 (May 2003) Atlasjet Flight 4203 (November 2007) Medair Bell 206 crash (March 2009)
2010s	Turkish F-4 Phantom shootdown (June 2012) Turkish Airlines Flight 1878 (April 2015) Swan Aviation Sikorsky S-76 crash (March 2017) Pegasus Airlines Flight 8622 (January 2018)
2020s	Pegasus Airlines Flight 2193 (February 2020) Turkish Air Force Eurocopter AS532 Cougar crash (March 2021)
See also: List of hijackings of Turkish airplanes

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in 2001 (2001)
Jan 23 Yemenia Flight 448Jan 25 RUTACA Airlines Flight 225Jan 27 Omsk An-70 crashJan 27 Oklahoma State basketball team crashJan 31 Japan Airlines mid-air incidentFeb 7 Iberia Flight 1456Feb 27 Loganair Flight 670AMar 3 Thai Airways International Flight 114Mar 15 Vnukovo Airlines Flight 2806Mar 24 Air Caraïbes Flight 1501Mar 29 Avjet Gulfstream III crashApr 1 Hainan Island incidentApr 20 Peru shootdownMay 17 Faraz Qeshm Airlines Yak-40 crashJul 4 Vladivostok Air Flight 352Aug 24 Air Transat Flight 236Aug 25 Marsh Harbour Cessna 402 crashAug 29 Binter Mediterráneo Flight 8261Sep 11 American Airlines Flight 11Sep 11 United Airlines Flight 175Sep 11 American Airlines Flight 77Sep 11 United Airlines Flight 93Sep 11 Delta Air Lines Flight 1989Sep 11 Korean Air Flight 085Sep 15 TAM Airlines Flight 9755Sep 17 Grozny Mi-8 crashSep 21 Aeroflot Flight 521Oct 4 Siberia Airlines Flight 1812Oct 8 2001 Linate Airport runway collisionOct 10 Flightline Flight 101Nov 12 American Airlines Flight 587Nov 12 Fishtail Air Eurocopter AS350 crashNov 19 IRS Aero Flight 9601/02Nov 24 Crossair Flight 3597Dec 2 AFRF Flight 9064Dec 22 American Airlines Flight 63
2000 ◄ ► 2002

Aviation accidents and incidents in 2001 (2001)