On October 4, 2001, a Siberia Airlines Tupolev Tu-154M disappeared from radar over the Black Sea while flying from Tel Aviv to Novosibirsk. There were 78 people on board Flight 1812 - 66 passengers and 12 crew members. There were no survivors.
The aircraft, registration RA-85693, was flying at an altitude of approximately 11,100 meters on international air route B-145. The investigation by the Interstate Aviation Committee found that the plane was hit by the warhead of a 5B28 missile launched from the S-200B anti-aircraft missile system.
The missile was launched during an exercise
The missile was launched from a position near Feodosia on the Crimean peninsula, where the Ukrainian air defense is conducting military maneuvers. According to the conclusion of the aviation investigation, the missile tracked the plane with the complex's radar system, and the warhead exploded in the air.
The impact destroyed part of the hull, caused depressurization and fires on board. The subsequent loss of control led to the plane falling into the sea. The wreckage was found off the Russian Black Sea coast, and the search and recovery effort continued for days.
In the first days after the crash, the Ukrainian military denied any involvement in the incident. However, Moscow insisted that the plane had been hit by a missile, and that radar data and debris found pointed the investigation to military exercises in Crimea.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry's admission
On October 13, 2001, then-Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksandr Kuzmuk acknowledged the involvement of Ukrainian forces and apologized to the families. “We know we were involved in the incident. "I offer my deepest apologies to the relatives and friends of the deceased," he said.
Later, the Interstate Aviation Committee published a final conclusion that Flight 1812 was hit by a Ukrainian S-200B missile fired during a training exercise. The report described a direct connection between the launch from the Feodosia region, the explosion of the warhead, and the destruction of the aircraft.
Compensation and litigation
Between 2003 and 2005, the Ukrainian government paid about $15.6 million in compensation to the victims' relatives. The amounts were agreed with the relatives, but some of them continue to seek legal liability from the Ukrainian state.
Ukrainian courts later rejected claims by relatives of the deceased, assuming that the evidence presented did not establish legal liability of the Ministry of Defense. Separately, “Siberia Airlines“ claimed over $15.3 million for the destroyed plane. In December 2012, the Supreme Economic Court of Ukraine confirmed the rejection of the airline's claim.
The disaster remains one of the most serious cases in which a civilian plane was mistakenly shot down during a military exercise. In addition to Russian citizens, the dead included passengers traveling between Israel and Russia.
Sources: Reuters, BBC, Interfax-Ukraine