1930s
Kweilin Incident
This incident is believed to
be the first commercial passenger plane attacked by hostile forces. On 24
August 1938 – during the Second Sino-Japanese War – the Kweilin, a DC-2 jointly
operated by China National Aviation Corporation (CNAC) and Pan American,
carrying 18 passengers and crew, was forced down by Japanese aircraft in
Chinese territory just north of Hong Kong. 15 people died when the Kweilin,
which made an emergency water landing to avoid the attack, was strafed by the
Japanese and sunk in a river. The American pilot Hugh L. Woods and two others
survived. Three prominent Chinese bankers, Hu Yun, Singloh Hsu, and Wang Yumei,
were among the dead. It was later believed to be an assassination attempt on
Chinese President Sun Yat-sen's only son, Sun Fo, who was believed by the
Japanese to be aboard but missed the flight. The plane was refurbished, renamed
The Chungking, and was later involved in a second shootdown incident in 1940.
1940s
Kaleva OH-ALL
was a civilian transport and passenger plane (a Junkers Ju 52-3/mge) operated
by the Finnish carrier Aero O/Y, shot down by two Soviet Ilyushin DB-3 bombers
on 14 June 1940, while en route from Tallinn, Estonia, to Helsinki, Finland. This
occurred during the Interim Peace between Finland and the Soviet Union, three
months after the end of the Winter War, and a year before the Continuation War
began. A few minutes after taking off in Tallinn, Kaleva was intercepted by two
Soviet Ilyushin DB-3T torpedo bombers. The bombers opened fire with their
machine guns and badly damaged Kaleva, causing it to ditch in water a few
kilometers northeast of Keri lighthouse. All seven passengers and two crew
members on board died.
The Chungking
On 29 October 1940, the exact
same DC-2 involved in the previous shootdown incident as "Kweilin",
now renamed "Chungking", operated by CNAC, was destroyed by Japanese
fighters at Changyi Airfield, Yunnan, China, after it made a scheduled landing
and was coming to a stop. Nine people died including the American pilot Walter
"Foxie" Kent and Chinese architect Chang-Kan Chien. The plane caught
fire and would never fly again.
1942 KNILM Douglas DC-3 shootdown
PK-AFV, also known as the
PH-ALP Pelikaan (one of the KLM airliners that diverted when Germany invaded
The Netherlands), was a Douglas DC-3 airliner operated by KNILM from 1940. On 3
March 1942, while on a flight from Bandung, Netherlands East Indies, to Broome,
Australia, with the well-known KLM captain Ivan Smirnov, the plane was attacked
by three Japanese Mitsubishi A6M fighter planes; PK-AFV successfully landed on
the beach with damage and an engine fire but was then strafed and the
flight-engineer and three passengers (including a baby) were killed. Smirnov
had a consignment of diamonds, worth at the time an estimated £150,000–300,000
(in 2019 an approximate £7–15 million), in his possession. The vast majority of
these were lost or stolen following the crash.
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| BOAC DC-3 shot down by German fighters in 1943 |
BOAC Flight 777
A scheduled British Overseas
Airways Corporation civilian airline flight of a Douglas DC-3 on 1 June 1943
from Lisbon's Portela Airport in neutral Portugal, to Whitchurch near Bristol,
England, was attacked by eight German Junkers Ju 88 fighter bombers. It crashed
into the Bay of Biscay, resulting in the death of all aboard, including English
actor Leslie Howard.
AB Aerotransport SE-BAG Gripen
The Douglas DC-3 was attacked
by a German Junkers Ju-88 Luftwaffe fighter-bomber over the coast of Hållö
Island, Sweden on 22 October 1943. The aircraft was flying a scheduled passenger
flight from Aberdeen to Stockholm. A ditching at sea was attempted but the
aircraft flew against the cliffs and crashed. Of the fifteen occupants two
survived, the flight-engineer and a passenger, after they were thrown out of the
rear part of the aircraft.
1950s
1954 Cathay Pacific Douglas DC-4 shootdown
VR-HEU, a Douglas DC-4
airliner operated by Cathay Pacific Airways,[9] en route from Bangkok to Hong
Kong on 23 July 1954, was shot down by People's Liberation Army Air Force
Lavochkin La-11 fighters off the coast of Hainan Island; 10 on board died.
El Al Flight 402, a Lockheed L-149 Constellation, registered 4X-AKC, was a passenger
flight from Vienna, Austria, to Tel Aviv, Israel, via Istanbul, Turkey, on 27
July 1955. The aircraft strayed into Bulgarian airspace, refused to land, and
was shot down by two Bulgarian MiG-15 jet fighters several kilometers away from
the Greek border near Petrich, Bulgaria. All seven crew and 51 passengers on
board the airliner died.[13][14]
1960s
Aeroflot Flight 902 was a flight on scheduled domestic service from Khabarovsk to Moscow.
On 30 June 1962, its wreckage was found 28 km (17 mi) east of Krasnoyarsk
airport, in flat terrain. There were no survivors. An entry hole, with signs of
fire damage on the cabin side of the fuselage, was consistent with that which
could be caused by an anti-aircraft missile, and there was an unofficial
confirmation that an anti-aircraft missile had gone astray during an air defense
exercise in the area.
1970s
Libyan Airlines Flight 114 was a regularly scheduled flight from Tripoli, Libya,
via Benghazi to Cairo. At 10:30 on 21 February 1973, the Boeing 727 left
Tripoli, but became lost due to a combination of bad weather and equipment
failure over northern Egypt around 13:44 (local time). It entered
Israeli-controlled airspace over the Sinai Peninsula, was intercepted by two
Israeli F-4 Phantom II fighters, refused to land, and was shot down. Of the 113
people on board, five survived, including the co-pilot.
Korean Air Lines Flight 902 was a civilian Boeing 707 airliner shot down by
Soviet Sukhoi Su-15 fighters on 20 April 1978, near Murmansk, Soviet Union,
after it violated Soviet airspace and failed to respond to Soviet interceptors.
Two passengers died in the incident. 107 passengers and crew survived after the
plane made an emergency landing on a frozen lake.
Air Rhodesia Flight 825, was a scheduled flight between Kariba and Salisbury,
Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe), that was shot down on 3 September 1978, by
Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) guerrillas using a Strela 2
missile. Eighteen of the 56 passengers of the Vickers Viscount survived the
crash, but 10 of the survivors were massacred by the guerrillas at the crash
site.
Air Rhodesia Flight 827 was a scheduled flight between Kariba and Salisbury
that was shot down on 12 February 1979, by ZIPRA guerrillas using a Strela 2
missile in similar circumstances to Flight RH825 five months earlier. None of
the 59 passengers or crew of the Vickers Viscount survived.
1980s
1980 Itavia Flight 870. On 27 June 1980 a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-15 broke up
mid-air and crashed into the sea near the Italian island of Ustica, while en
route from Bologna to Palermo. All 81 people on board were killed. The cause
has been the subject of a decades-long controversy. The aircraft may have been
accidentally shot down during a military operation possibly involving NATO and
Libyan military aircraft. Another theory is that the plane was bombed by
terrorists. On 23 January 2013, Italy's top criminal court ruled that there was
"abundantly" clear evidence that the flight was brought down by a
missile.
Linhas Aéreas de Angola Yakovlev Yak-40. On 8 February 1980 Linhas Aéreas de Angola airliner
registered D2-TYC, a Yakovlev Yak-40, was shot down near Matala, Angola with
the loss of all on board (four crew and 15 passengers). ICAO report a sudden
situation took place in response to actions by a foreign aircraft and
accidentally the Yak-40 was hit and crashed. Unconfirmed reports mention the
possible involvement of a Zambian Shenyang J-6 (MiG-19) fighter.
Korean Air Lines Flight 007, was a Korean Air Lines Boeing 747 civilian airliner
shot down by a Soviet Su-15TM interceptor on 1 September 1983, near Moneron
Island just west of Sakhalin Island. 269 passengers and crew, including US
congressman Larry McDonald, were aboard KAL 007; there were no survivors. An
official investigation concluded that the course deviation was likely caused by
pilot error in configuring the air navigation system. Actual jet pictured before tragedy.
1985 Polar 3
On 24 February 1985, the
Polar 3, a Dornier Do 228 research airplane of the Alfred Wegener Institute in
Bremerhaven, West Germany, was shot down by guerrillas of the Polisario Front
over West Sahara. All three crew members died. Polar 3 was on its way back from
Antarctica and had taken off in Dakar, Senegal, to reach Arrecife, Canary
Islands.
1985 Bakhtar Afghan Airlines Antonov An-26. On 4 September 1985 (during the Soviet–Afghan War),
a Bakhtar Afghan Airlines Antonov An-26 (registered YA-BAM) was shot down by a
ground-air missile near Kandahar. The aircraft was carrying 47 passengers and 5
crew members and had been on a scheduled flight from Kandahar to Farah. There
were no survivors.
1987 Bakhtar Afghan Airlines Antonov An-26. On 11 June 1987, a Bakhtar Afghan Airlines Antonov
An-26 (registered YA-BAL) was shot down by a missile near Khost, killing 53 out
of the 55 people on board. The aircraft had been on a flight from Kandahar to
Kabul.
1987 Zimex Aviation Lockheed L-100, Angola
On 14 October 1987, a Lockheed
L-100 Hercules registered HB-ILF, owned by the Swiss company Zimex Aviation and
operated on behalf of the ICRC, was shot down about four minutes after
departing Cuito airport, Angola. It was hit by an unknown projectile fired by
unknown combatants during the Angolan Civil War. Four crew members and two
passengers died. On the ground, two persons died and one was severely injured.
1987 Air Malawi 7Q-YMB
On 6 November 1987, an Air
Malawi Shorts Skyvan 7Q-YMB was shot down while on a domestic flight from
Blantyre, Malawi to Lilongwe. The flight plan took it over Mozambique where the
Mozambican Civil War was in progress. The aircraft was shot down near the
Mozambican town of Ulongwe. The eight passengers and two crew on board
died.[30]
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| USS Vincennes |
1988 T&G Aviation DC-7
On 8 December 1988 a Douglas
DC-7 chartered by the US Agency for International Development was shot down
over Western Sahara by the Polisario Front, resulting in five deaths. Leaders
of the movement said the plane was mistaken for a Moroccan Lockheed C-130. The
aircraft was on its way to Morocco for a "locust control mission"
there.
1990s
1992 Shooting of Armenian plane by the Azerbaijan military
A Yak-40 plane traveling from
Stepanakert airport to Yerevan on 27 March 1992, with a total of 34 passengers
and crew, was attacked by an Azerbaijan military Sukhoi Su-25 attack aircraft.
With an engine failure and a fire in rear of the plane, it eventually made a safe
landing on Armenian territory.
1993 Transair Georgian Airline shootdowns.
In September 1993, three
airliners belonging to Transair Georgia were shot down by missiles and gunfire
in Sukhumi, Abkhazia, Georgia. The first, a Tupolev Tu-134, was shot down on 21
September 1993 by a missile during landing approach. The second plane, a
Tupolev Tu-154, was shot down a day later also during approach. A third one was
shelled and destroyed on the ground, while passengers were boarding.
1994 Rwandan presidential airliner
The Dassault Falcon 50
airplane carrying Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian president
Cyprien Ntaryamira was shot down as it prepared to land in Kigali, Rwanda, on 6
April 1994. Both presidents died. This double assassination was the catalyst
for the Rwandan genocide and the First Congo War. Responsibility for the attack
is disputed, with most theories proposing as suspects either the rebel Rwandan
Patriotic Front (RPF) or government-aligned Hutu Power extremists opposed to
negotiation with the RPF.
Lionair Flight 602, operated by an Antonov An-24RV, crashed into the sea off the
north-western coast of Sri Lanka on 29 September 1998. The aircraft departed
Jaffna-Palaly Air Force Base on a flight to Colombo and disappeared from radar screens
just after the pilot had reported depressurization. Initial reports indicated
that the plane had been shot down by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels.
All seven crew and 48 passengers died.
2000s
2001 Peru shootdown. On 20 April 2001, a Cessna A185E floatplane registered OB-1408 was
shot down by a Peruvian Cessna A-37B Dragonfly attack aircraft over the border
Mariscal Ramón Castilla Province of Peru. Two out of four passengers on board
were killed, American Christian missionary Roni Bowers and her infant daughter
Charity, while the pilot Kevin Donaldson was severely wounded. The incident
took place during the Air Bridge Denial Program, when a CIA surveillance plane
misidentified the floatplane as involved in drug trafficking and alerted the Peruvian
Air Force, resulting in its downing. A year later, the US government paid
compensation of $8 million to the Bowers family and the pilot.
2001 Siberia Airlines Flight 1812
On 4 October 2001, Siberian
Airlines Flight 1812, a Tupolev Tu-154, crashed over the Black Sea en route
from Tel Aviv, Israel to Novosibirsk, Russia. Although the immediate suspicion
was of a terrorist attack, American sources proved that the plane was hit by a
S-200 surface-to-air missile, fired from the Crimea peninsula during a
Ukrainian military exercise, and this was confirmed by the Moscow-based
Interstate Aviation Committee. All on board (66 passengers and 12 crew) died.
The President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma and several high commanders of the
military expressed their condolences to the relatives of the victims. The
Ukrainian Government paid out $200,000 in compensation to the families of every
passenger and crew who died when the plane crashed. They paid out a total of
$15 million in compensation for the accident.
2003 Baghdad DHL attempted shootdown.
Shortly after takeoff from
Baghdad on 22 November 2003, an Airbus A300-200F cargo plane registered OO-DLL,
was struck on the left wing by a surface-to-air missile whilst en route to
Muharraq, Bahrain. The aircraft lost all hydraulic control meaning the crew had
to use engine thrust control to manoeuvre the plane. Despite no controls, a
high landing speed and a damaged left wing, the plane touched down at Baghdad
airport. Seconds after touch down OO-DLL went off runway due to lack of
controls. All 3 people on board survived.
2007 Balad aircraft crash
On 9 January 2007, an Antonov
An-26 crashed while attempting a landing at Balad Air Base in Iraq. Although
poor weather is blamed by officials, witnesses claim they saw the plane being
shot down, and the Islamic Army in Iraq claimed responsibility. Thirty-four of
the 35 civilian passengers on board died.
2007 Mogadishu TransAVIAexport Airlines Il-76 crash
On 23 March 2007, a
TransAVIAexport Airlines Ilyushin Il-76 airplane crashed in outskirts of
Mogadishu, Somalia, during the 2007 Battle of Mogadishu. Witnesses, including a
Shabelle reporter, claim they saw the plane shot down, and Belarus has
initiated an anti-terrorist investigation, but Somalia insists the crash was
accidental. All 11 Belarusian civilians on board died.
2010s
2014 Malaysia Airlines Flight 17
On 17 July 2014, Malaysia
Airlines Flight 17, a Boeing 777-200ER, flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur,
was hit by a Soviet-made Buk surface-to-air missile. All 283 passengers and 15
crew were killed, including 80 children.
Joint Investigation Team claimed the
missile was operated by Russian backed rebels near Donetsk, Ukraine during the
Battle in Shakhtarsk Raion.[48] Russian President Vladimir Putin denied accusations
of Russian involvement.[49] At the time, the shootdown is Ukraine's deadliest
aviation disaster and the deadliest aviation disaster involving the Boeing 777.
2020s
2020 Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752
On 8 January 2020, Ukraine
International Airlines Flight 752 was shot down by Iran's Armed Forces while
taking off from Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport, killing all 176
people on board. After initially denying responsibility, Iran admitted on 11
January 2020 that the plane was "unintentionally" shot down when it
was mistaken for a "hostile target" as it turned towards a
"sensitive site" of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
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