Incident Overview
A US Air Force Hercules aircraft departed Incirlik Air Force Base near Adana, Turkey, for a survey mission over Turkish territory. The flight plan included overflights of the cities of Trabzon and Van, with a requirement to maintain a minimum distance of 160 kilometers from the Turkey-Armenia border. After passing over Trabzon at an altitude of 25,500 feet, the crew did not alter course south toward Van as intended but instead continued eastward. While flying over Armenia at 22,000 feet, the aircraft was struck by an air-to-air missile launched by a Soviet fighter pilot. The four-engine transport lost control and crashed near the city of Talin, Armenia.
Crew and Personnel
The aircraft carried a crew of six and an additional 11 intelligence-gathering personnel belonging to the United States Air Force Security Service (USAFSS). Several weeks after the crash, the bodies of the six crew members were handed over to US authorities. No further information was received regarding the fate of the 11 intelligence personnel.
Official Findings
The probable cause of the incident, as stated in official findings, was that the aircraft was shot down by a Soviet Air Force fighter after it entered Soviet airspace without prior permission. The findings also noted that the C-130 crew may have become disoriented by Soviet navigational beacons operating on frequencies similar to those at Trabzon and Van; a signal from Georgia was reportedly stronger than the one from Trabzon.
Subsequent Developments
More than 30 years after the event, previously classified documents were declassified and released to the media. These documents indicated that the crew was engaged in identifying Soviet defense radar systems and testing their performance. In August 1993, US authorities confirmed that they had obtained permission to examine the wreckage of the aircraft.