Summary Shootdown Crew 3 Survivors 0 Date 28 January 1992 Site Nagorno-Karabakh Survivor 0 | Passengers 41 Fatalities 44 Aircraft type Mil Mi-8 Number of deaths 44 Destination Shusha | |
Operator Azerbaijani Air and Air Defence Force Similar China General Aviation F, 1992 Nigerian Air Force, Libyan Arab Airlines Fl, Commutair flight 4281, China Southern Airlines Fl | ||
On January 28, 1992, the Azerbaijani transport helicopter Mil Mi-8 was reportedly shot down by a heat-seeking missile near the town of Shusha.
Contents
The 1993 report by U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on aviation security called it the "most significant incident" involving civil aviation aircraft in Central Eurasia.
Background
Serious air warfare during the Nagorno-Karabakh War broke out in January 1992. The Azeri aircraft became facile targets for Armenian armed forces. On January 9, the Armenians claimed the first downed Azeri helicopter and more claims followed on January 24, 28 and 31 – all of them over Nagorny Karabakh, the last being a Mi-8 downed from MANPADs over the village of Huha. On January 31, the Azeris claimed the downings of two Mi-8s that supported the first Armenian offensive.
The shootdown
The helicopter with civilians on board departed from the town of Agdam to Shusha, which was blockaded by Armenians, and was downed en route by the surface-to-air missile. All 44 persons on board have been killed, including children and women. According to Azeri journalist Kerim Kerimli, who assisted in collecting the bodies at the site and confirmed the number of fatalities, the missile was launched from Stepanakert.
The Armenian officials stated that the helicopter was carrying weapons and ammunition to Azeris attacking Armenian villages.