Hmeimim - Hmeimim

On September 17, 2018 at 10:07 PM, Hmeimim - Hmeimim experienced a crash involving Ilyushin II-20, operated by Russian Air Force - Voyenno-vozdushnye sily Rossii, with the event recorded near Latakia Latakia Governorate (<U+0645><U+064F><U+062D><U+0627><U+0641><U+0638><U+0629> <U+0627><U+0644><U+0644><U+0627><U+0630><U+0642><U+064A><U+0629><U+200E>).

The flight was categorized as survey / patrol / reconnaissance and the reported phase was flight at a lake, sea, ocean, river crash site.

15 people were known to be on board, 15 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

Crew on board: 15, crew fatalities: 15, passengers on board: 0, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is terrorism act, hijacking, sabotage. The four engine aircraft departed Hmeimim AFB located southeast of Latakia at 2031LT on a maritime patrol and reconnaissance mission over the Mediterranean Sea. About an one hour and a half later, while returning to its base, the airplane was hit by a S-200 surface-to-air missile shot by the Syrian ground forces. At the time of the accident, four Israel F-16 fighters were involved in a ground attack onto several infrastructures located in the region of Latakia. Out of control, the airplane crashed into the Mediterranean Sea some 35 km west of Latakia. The following morning, Russian Authorities confirmed the loss of the aircraft that was inadvertently shot down by the Syrian Army forces and that all 15 crew members were killed.

Aircraft reference details include registration RF-93610, MSN 173 0115 04, year of manufacture 1973.