1981 Armenia mid-air collision

1981 Armenia mid-air collision
Accident
Date	18 July 1981
Summary	Mid-air collision
Site	Near Yerevan, Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic
Total fatalities	4
Total survivors	1
First aircraft
LV-JTN, the Canadair CL-44 involved in the accident at Basle Airport in October 1976.
Type	Canadair CL-44
Operator	Transporte Aéreo Rioplatense
Registration	LV-JTN
Flight origin	Tehran, Iran
Destination	Larnaca, Cyprus
Passengers	1
Crew	3
Survivors	0
Second aircraft
An unidentified Su-15
Type	Sukhoi Su-15
Operator	Soviet Air Defense Forces
Crew	1
Survivors	1

The 1981 Armenia mid-air collision occurred on 18 July 1981 when a Soviet Air Defense Forces Sukhoi Su-15 crashed into the tail of a Transporte Aéreo Rioplatense Canadair CL-44 commercial transport which had strayed into Soviet airspace over the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. The three crew and one passenger on the Argentine aircraft died; the Soviet pilot was able to eject to safety.

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Background

Scotsman Stuart Allen McCafferty was hired to transport 360 tonnes (360,000 kg; 790,000 lb) of American-made tank spare parts and ammunition from Tel Aviv to Tehran, and had a Swiss partner, arms dealer Andreas Jenni. McCafferty allegedly approached numerous United States charter airlines, offering them US$175,000 (equivalent to $563,000 today) to operate 15 flights which would carry "pharmaceuticals" between Israel and Iran, but none of them were interested. In June 1981, McCafferty travelled to Buenos Aires, where he persuaded Transporte Aéreo Rioplatense to charter him one of their CL-44 cargo aircraft.^[1]^[2]

After completing the first two round-flights from Tel Aviv to Tehran, via Larnaca in Cyprus, the airline was returning to Cyprus after having delivered the third tranche of cargo to Iran, when on 18 July 1981 the incident occurred.^[3]^[1]^[2] Before this incident, the Soviet Union had requested that Israel explain to it what was being transported on these cargo flights from Tel Aviv down the Turkish-Soviet border to Tehran. The Israel government ignored this request for information.^[4]

Incident

On its return flight from Tehran, the aircraft strayed off course. After heading towards the Turkish border, it strayed into Soviet airspace in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, which led the Soviets to scramble an Air Defense Forces Sukhoi Su-15 (NATO reporting name "Flagon") to intercept the aircraft. According to Soviet reports, the crew failed to respond to radio calls and visual signals from the pilot of the fighter aircraft. The crew of the CL-44 attempted to get away from the area, and the Soviet pilot directed his aircraft into the tail of the escaping aircraft, causing both aircraft to crash near Yerevan in the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. The Soviet fighter pilot managed to eject to safety, but the four occupants of the CL-44 – three Argentine crew and McCafferty, who had chartered the aircraft – died.^[3] Jenni, the arms dealer who procured the arms that had been delivered by the aircraft to Tehran, disputed these events, claiming that the aircraft was shot down 125 miles (201 km) inside Turkish territory.^[1]^[2]

It is unclear whether the collision was intentional;^[3] the Soviet pilot said it was a deliberate attempt to down the enemy aircraft, while Western aviation experts examining his account believed he misjudged a turn and subsequently invented a story of self-sacrifice.^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Soviets down Argentine plane. Did crash involve Israel-Iran deal?". The Bulletin (Bend). London. 28 July 1981. pp. D-4. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Israel sold arms to Iran: claim". The Age. London. 27 July 1981. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
^ Ben-Menashe, Ari. (2015). Profits of War : Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network. Chicago: Trine Day. p. 104. ISBN 9781634240505. OCLC 912235679.
^ James Oberg, "The Bloody Border": Chapter 3 from Uncovering Soviet Disasters Random House, 1988 pp. 32–49^{[ISBN missing]}

External links

http://www.planecrashinfo.com/1981/1981-35.htm

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1981

Feb 7

1981 Pushkin Tu-104 crash

Mar 2

Pakistan International Airlines Flight 326

Mar 28

Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 206

May 2

Aer Lingus Flight 164

May 7

Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 901

Jun 14

Aeroflot Flight 498

Jun 26

Dan-Air Flight 240

Jul 18

Armenia mid-air collision

Jul 20

Somali Airlines Flight 40

Jul 27

Aeroméxico Flight 230

Jul 31

Panamanian Air Force Twin Otter crash

Aug 9

1981 Barrington Tops Cessna 210 disappearance

Aug 13

G-ASWI ditching

Aug 19

Gulf of Sidra incident

Aug 22

Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 103

Aug 24

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Aug 26

Aeropesca Colombia Flight 221

Sep 18

Zheleznogorsk mid-air collision

Sep 22

Eastern Air Lines Flight 935

Sep 29

Indian Airlines Flight 423

Oct 6

NLM CityHopper Flight 431

Nov 8

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1980 ◄ ► 1982

Aviation accidents and incidents in the Soviet Union

1930s	Osoaviakhim-1 SSSR-V6 Osoaviakhim
1940s	1948 Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-12 crash
1950s	1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash LOT Polish Airlines Flight 232 Aeroflot Flight 04 1958 Aeroflot Tu-104 Kanash crash Aeroflot Flight 315 (1959) Aeroflot Flight 120 Aeroflot Flight 200
1960s	Aeroflot Flight 315 (1960) U-2 incident Aeroflot Flight 207 RB-47 shootdown incident Aeroflot Flight 036 Austrian Airlines Flight 901 Aeroflot Flight 068 Aeroflot Flight 245 Aeroflot Flight 902 Aeroflot Flight 415 Aeroflot Flight 213 (1962) Aeroflot Flight 191 Aeroflot Flight 03 Aeroflot Flight 25 Aeroflot Flight 012 Aeroflot Flight 366 Aeroflot Flight 663 Aeroflot Flight 721 Aeroflot Flight 101/X-20 Aeroflot Flight 542 Aeroflot Flight 513 Aeroflot Flight 99 Aeroflot Flight 065 Aeroflot Flight 2723 Aeroflot Flight 5003 (1967) Aeroflot Flight 2230 Aeroflot Flight L-51 Aeroflot Flight 15 Seaboard World Airlines Flight 253A 1969 Yukhnov mid-air collision Aeroflot Flight N-826
1970s	Aeroflot Flight U-45 Aeroflot Flight 1661 Dymshits–Kuznetsov hijacking affair Aeroflot Flight 3630 Aeroflot Flight 244 22 January 1971 Surgut Aeroflot Antonov An-12 crash 31 January 1971 Surgut Aeroflot Antonov An-12 crash Aeroflot Flight 1969 Aeroflot Flight 1912 Malév Flight 110 Aeroflot Flight 773 Aeroflot Flight N-63 Aeroflot Flight 2174 Aeroflot Flight 1491 Aeroflot Flight 558 Aeroflot Flight 1036 Aeroflot Flight 217 Japan Air Lines Flight 446 Aeroflot Flight 6263 Aeroflot Flight 141 Aeroflot Flight 630 Balkan Bulgarian Airlines Flight 307 Aeroflot Flight 6551 Aeroflot Flight 109 Aeroflot Flight A-13 Aeroflot Flight 3932 Aeroflot Flight 964 Aeroflot Flight 19 Aeroflot Flight 2022 1974 Leningrad Aeroflot Il-18 crash 1974 Surgut mid-air collision Aeroflot Flight 2003 Aeroflot Flight 3739 (1976) Aeroflot Flight 909 Aeroflot Flight 1802 Aeroflot Flight A-53 Aeroflot Flight 418 1976 Anapa mid-air collision Aeroflot Flight 2415 Aeroflot Flight N-36 Aeroflot Flight 3843 Aeroflot Flight 5003 (1977) 1977 Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-134 hijacking Aeroflot Flight B-2 Aeroflot Flight 6709 Korean Air Lines Flight 902 1978 Yegoryevsk Tu-144 crash Iranian Chinook shootdown Aeroflot Flight 1080 Aeroflot Flight 1691 1979 Dniprodzerzhynsk mid-air collision Aeroflot Flight 5484
1980s– Dec. 1991	Aeroflot Flight 4225 1981 Pushkin Tu-104 crash Aeroflot Flight 498 1981 Armenia mid-air collision 1981 Zheleznogorsk mid-air collision Aeroflot Flight 811 Aeroflot Flight 3603 Aeroflot Flight 8641 Aeroflot Flight 411 Aeroflot Flight 5463 Korean Air Lines Flight 007 Aeroflot Flight 601 Aeroflot Flight 3352 Aeroflot Flight 3519 Aeroflot Flight 7841 1985 Zolochiv mid-air collision Aeroflot Flight 5143 Aeroflot Flight 101/435 Aeroflot Flight 2306 Aeroflot Flight 6502 Aeroflot Flight U-505 Aeroflot Flight N-528 Aeroflot Flight 699 Aeroflot Flight 3739 (1988) 1988 Soviet Air Force Il-76 crash An-24 crash in Navoiy Aeroflot Flight 8556

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