Investigation Summary
The Tu-154 was carrying internal security personnel and civilians into the besieged city on the second day of attacks against the Sukhumi air bridge. A missile launched from the sea struck the aircraft during its approach; the crew brought it onto the airstrip, where it broke up and burned. A second Tu-154 attacked later the same evening landed safely. The death toll of 108 makes this the worst aviation disaster ever recorded in Georgia.
Final Conclusions
The aircraft was destroyed by deliberate military action: a surface-to-air missile fired by Abkhazian separatist forces at a civil aircraft on approach, followed by a post-impact fire on the airstrip.
Video Analysis
No video analysis linked for this case file yet.
Interesting Facts
- 01This is the deadliest aviation disaster in Georgian history.
- 02The aircraft was carrying internal security forces and civilians from Tbilisi.
- 03A second Tu-154 attacked the same evening landed without loss of life.
Location
NO VERIFIED COORDINATES · Coordinates were derived from the location description via the wikipedia geotag, so the marker shows the area rather than the site. No map is shown, because a marker here would imply a precision the record does not have.
Reported location: Sukhumi-Babusheri Airport, Abkhazia, Georgia