1994 Iranian Air Force C-130 shootdown
C-130E Hercules | |
Operator | Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force |
---|---|
Registration | 5-8521 |
Flight origin | Moscow, Russia |
Destination | Tehran Mehrabad International Airport, Iran |
Occupants | 32 |
Passengers | 19 |
Crew | 13 |
Fatalities | 32 |
Survivors | 0 |
The 1994 Iranian Air Force C-130 shootdown occurred on March 17, 1994, when an
Shootdown
The C-130 Hercules departed from
Armenia's first deputy foreign minister, Gerard Libaridian, told a news conference that the plane should have flown over Russia, Georgia and Armenia before reaching Iran. However it veered about 65 miles east of this corridor as it left Georgia and did not enter Armenian airspace as scheduled at 10:08 p.m. Instead, it flew into the war zone around Nagorno-Karabakh.[4]
The remains of Iranians killed in the crash were transported to Armenia and flown from the Yerevan's
Iran dispatched a special Air Force commission to investigate the causes of the tragedy. The chief of the commission Abdat Aminian dismissed the version offered by Armenian Vice President Gagik Arutyunyan who suggested that the C-130 lost control and plunged to the ground because of some malfunctions of the plane's flight systems. An official of Iran's Foreign Ministry stated that for "some unknown reasons the plane exploded in mid-air, after it veered off course."[6]
Aminian declared that the plane was shot down by two missiles, launched by the Armenian forces. Aminian said that the Armenian side did not assume direct responsibility for the accident, however, it admitted that its troops took the Iranian plane for an Azerbaijani craft, and that the Armenian troops did not try to get in touch with the plane in order to identify it.[7]
The
The Azerbaijani National Security Ministry supplied the Iranian side with a radio dispatch that was intercepted by Azerbaijani intelligence on the day of the catastrophe. One of the phrases in the intercepted dispatch was "We have just downed an Azerbaijani military plane". Azerbaijani intelligence claimed that a self-targeting "Osa" missile system was used to down the C-130.[6]
Some Russian military experts suggested that the C-130 intentionally changed its flight course for reconnaissance purposes.[10] However the Iranian Foreign Ministry rejected these allegations.[11]
Aftermath
In a meeting in Tehran with Armenia's vice president, Gagik Arutyunyan, Iranian President
In the opinion of Human Rights Watch, "under the rules of war, the Karabakh Armenians would be duty bound to ascertain the nature of the aircraft before firing. If they did not use every available means to identify the aircraft and still fired, this would constitute a serious violation of humanitarian law".[2]
See also
- List of accidents and incidents involving the Lockheed C-130 Hercules
- List of aircraft shootdowns during the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
References
- ^ The Independent, 29 March 1994. Armenians 'shot down' plane.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-56432-142-8, p. 108
- ^ The Independent, 19 March 1994. Sad new year.
- ^ a b Los Angeles Times, March 19, 1994. 32 Die as Iranian Plane Strays, Crashes in Karabakh War Zone Archived 2012-10-21 at the Wayback Machine
- ITAR-TASS, March 22, 1994. Remains of Iranians killed in Thursday crash sent to Iran.
- ^ a b Nezavisimaya Gazeta, March 26, 1994. "We Just Downed Azeri Military Plane." Azeri Intelligence Holds Stepanakert Radioed Such A Message To Yerevan On Day Of Iranian C-130 Disaster
- ITAR-TASS, March 31, 1994. Iranian C-130 plane was downed by two missiles
- ^ Associated Press, March 28, 1994. Iran Says Armenian Forces Downed Airplane Killing 32.
- ^ BBC, March 30, 1994. Foreign Ministry says Armenian troops shot down Iranian passenger aircraft.
- ^ The Christian Science Monitor, March 22, 1994. Wendy Sloane. "Crashed Iranian jet may have been spying."
- ITAR-TASS, March 22, 1994. Iran rejects its crashed C-130 was spying.
- ^ Associated Press, May 04, 1994. Iran Calls On Armenia To Expedite Plane Crash Investigation.
- ITAR-TASS, May 5, 1994. Iranian plane was shot down over Karabakh "by mistake"