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|---|---|
| Date | 28 January 1992 |
| Summary | Shootdown |
| Site | near Shusha, Azerbaijan |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Mil Mi-8 |
| Operator | Azerbaijani Air Force |
| Flight origin | Agdam |
| Destination | Shusha |
| Passengers | 41 |
| Crew | 3 |
| Fatalities | 44 |
| Survivors | 0 |
On January 28, 1992 the Azerbaijani transport helicopter Mil Mi-8 was shot down by a heat-seeking missile near the Azerbaijani town of Shusha. The 1993 report by U.S. Federal Aviation Administration called it the most significant incident in Central Eurasia.
Background
A 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 to shoot down 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, blockaded by Armenians, and was downed en route by the surface-to-air missile. All 44 persons on board have been killed, mostly children and women. According to Azeri journalist Kerim Kerimli, who assisted in collecting the bodies at the site, the missile was launched from Stepanakert.
References
- ^ "Criminal Acts Against Civil Aviation" (PDF). U.S. Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2010-04-04.
- ^ Tom Cooper. "Air War over Nagorniy-Kharabakh, 1988-1994". Air Combat Information Group. Retrieved 2010-04-04.
- "Terrorist-subversive actions committed in the territory of Azerbaijan". Azerbaijan's State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons. Retrieved 2010-04-04.