Investigation Summary
The shootdown was the first of three consecutive days of attacks on civil aircraft serving Sukhumi during the final Abkhaz offensive of the War in Abkhazia. With overland routes cut, the airport was the only remaining link to Georgian-held Sukhumi, and Abkhaz forces treated the air bridge as a military target. A Strela 2 launched from a boat offshore struck the Tu-134 on final approach; the aircraft fell into the sea within sight of the airfield. Two Orbi Georgian Airways Tu-134As (CCCP-65808 and CCCP-65809) had already been destroyed on the ground by shellfire the previous day, without casualties.
Final Conclusions
The loss was the result of deliberate military action: a man-portable surface-to-air missile fired by Abkhazian separatist forces against a civil aircraft on approach. No technical or operational failure contributed.
Video Analysis
No video analysis linked for this case file yet.
Interesting Facts
- 01The flight was primarily carrying journalists travelling into Sukhumi from Sochi.
- 02The missile was fired from an Abkhaz patrol boat operating off the coast.
- 03This was the first of three airliners lost at Sukhumi in three days.
Location
APPROXIMATE POSITION · Position recorded by the wikipedia geotag without a stated precision, so the ring shows roughly where the event occurred rather than an exact point. The ring shows the accuracy the record supports, not the point of impact.