Narrative:A hijacking occurred on board an Aeroflot Tupolev 154 aircraft on a domestic flight from Mineralnye Vody Airport (MRV) to Ekaterinburg Airport (SVX), Russia. The flight, with 171 passengers and crew, was seized by four passengers armed with firearms and grenades and forced to land at Ankara-Esenboga Airport (ESB), Turkey. The hijackers were nationals of the Checheno-Ingushskaya Autonomous Republic, which had declared its independence from Russia and elected a president shortly before the hijacking. The hijackers stated that they were protesting and publicizing the imposition of martial law by Russian President Boris Yeltsin in response to these acts.
Several hours after the aircraft landed in Turkey, it departed with all original passengers on board, including the hijackers, destined for Groznyy. There were no injuries reported.
Sources:
» Criminal Acts Against Civil Aviation 1991 / U.S. Department of Transport, FAA, Office of Civil Aviation Security
Photos
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does
not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Mineralnye Vody Airport to Ekaterinburg-Koltsovo Airport as the crow flies is 1849 km (1156 miles).
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.