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In September, 1993, three Tupolev civilian airliners belonging to Transair Georgia were hit by missiles fired by rebels in Sukhumi, Abkhazia, Georgia. A total of 136 perished in the attacks.

21 September[]

A Tu-134 aircraft flying from Sochi was hit on approach to Sukhumi-Babusheri Airport by a surface-to-air missile. The plane crashed into the Black Sea, killing all five crew members and 22 passengers.[1]

22 September[]

Another plane (Tu-154) flying from Tbilisi (and reportedly carrying Georgian soldiers[2]) was shot down while attempting to land at the Sukhumi airport and crashed on the runway, killing 108 of the 132 people on board.[3]

23 September[]

Passengers were boarding an aircraft at Sukhumi when it was struck by mortar or artillery fire from the rebels. It caught fire and burned out, leaving one crew member dead.[4]

References[]

  1. Criminal Occurrence description for September 21 shootdown at the Aviation Safety Network
  2. Mihail Zhirohov, Авиация в абхазском конфликте (Aviation in the Abkhazian conflict) (Russian)
  3. Criminal Occurrence description for September 22 shootdown at the Aviation Safety Network
  4. Criminal Occurrence description for September 23 fire at the Aviation Safety Network
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