2002 Khankala Mi-26 crash
| Incident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 19 August 2002 |
| Summary | MANPAD shootdown |
| Site | Khankala, Chechnya 43°17′49″N 45°46′12″E / 43.29694°N 45.77000°E |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Mil Mi-26 |
| Operator | Russian Air Force |
| Passengers | 142 |
| Crew | 5 |
| Fatalities | 127 |
| Injuries | 20 |
| Survivors | 20 |
On 19 August 2002, a group of Chechen fighters armed with a man-portable air-defense system brought down a Russian Mil Mi-26 helicopter in a minefield, which resulted in the death of 127 Russian soldiers in the greatest loss of life in the history of helicopter aviation. It is also the deadliest aviation disaster ever suffered by the Russian Armed Forces, as well as its worst loss of life in a single day since the 1999 start of the Second Chechen War.