Lemavia Flight 1

Lemavia Flight 1

A Rogozin R-20 similar to the one involved in the crash
Shootdown
Date	2 May 2003 (2003-05-02)
Summary	Shot down by a West Miersan surface-to-air missile
Site	Near Zubizurija, Lemovicia
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Rogozin R-20
Operator	Lemavia
Call sign	Lemavia 1
Flight origin	Dynsk International Airport, West Miersa
Destination	Topagunea International Airport, Lemovicia
Occupants	53
Passengers	50
Crew	3
Fatalities	53
Survivors	0

Lemavia Flight 1 was a scheduled passenger flight operated by Lemavia between Dynsk International Airport in East Miersa, and Topagunea International Airport in the self-proclaimed State of Lemovicia (and claimed by West Miersa). On 2 May, 2003, it was shot down by the Miersan National Armed Forces by a TBD surface-to-air missile over Zubizurija from a military base in Bielbrowa, near the border with Lemovicia and East Miersa, with the plane crashing approximately half way between Zubizurija and Goikoecija Beŕija.

West Miersa quickly acknowledged shooting down the aircraft, claiming that it was on an East Miersan aerial reconnaissance mission, and that the passengers were soldiers travelling to the Kirenian Valgesild military base near Zubizurija. Lemovicia denied the allegations of it ever being used for aerial reconnaissance against West Miersa, and accused the West Miersans of deliberately targetting the aircraft "to send a message."

This precipitated an international crisis between Lemovicia and West Miersa, as many Lemovicians demanded vengeance for the shootdown, while hardliners attempted to pressure the West Miersan government to "abrogate the Arciluco Agreement" and finish the task of "liberating East Miersan-occupied territories." War was only averted following an October agreement between Ociote Sasiambarena and Damian Jackowiak in Dražovice, that had West Miersa compensate the families of the victims for the loss of life, in exchange for Lemavia no longer flying above the Corridor Security Zone and for Lemovicia to not press damages or for a criminal prosecution of the West Miersans involved.

Aircraft

The aircraft used by Lemavia for the flight between Dynsk and Topagunea was an Rogozin R-20 turboprop plane, which had been seized in 1979 when Lemovicia proclaimed its independence from West Miersa. Built in 1971 by Rogozin, it had previously been operated by West Miersa for flights between Mistózburó (present-day Topagunea) and Krada until its seizure in 1979 by Lemovician separatists.

Powered by two TBD turboprop engines, and carrying 50 seats (in an all-economy configuration), it had recorded more than TBD hours in TBD cycles before the crash. The aircraft was in airworthy condition before its departure from Dynsk International Airport.

Passengers and crew

People on board by nationality

Nation	Number
East Miersa	20
Kirenia	5
Lemovicia	28
Total	53

All 53 passengers and crew died in the crash, making it the deadliest aviation incident in Lemavia's history. Twenty-five passengers, or half of the passengers, were Lemovician nationals, while twenty passengers, or two-fifths, were East Miersan nationals, with the remainder being comprised of Kirenian nationals.

Notable passengers killed in the crash include Hegoi Astilerua, a member of the Lemovician Presidency returning from a state visit to East Miersa, Lemovician singers Lacari Arano and Rufo Arano, and Lemovician actor Carol Zavala. Six family groups were travelling on the flight, while seven passengers were under the age of 18.

The flight crew was pilot Senepelar Uhalte, First Officer Ciaciel Samur, and flight attendant Csenge Apród, who were all Lemovician nationals.

Background

Since Lemovicia's proclamation of independence from West Miersa in 1979, it has only been officially recognized by a handful of states, mostly members of the Association for International Socialism, with the rest of the world recognizing West Miersan sovereignty over Lemovicia. This has led to a situation where Lemovicia's international status has been in dispute, even after the conclusion of the Lemovician War in 1992, which left the status of Lemavia in doubt, as West Miersa officially considers flights between Lemovicia and East Miersa to be illegal.

Until 2003, flights between Lemovicia and East Miersa took a "direct route" over Lemovician-controlled territory, including the Corridor Security Zone (officially part of the Środkowa powiat according to West Miersa), towards East Miersan territory, avoiding West Miersa. While this practice had been tolerated since the end of the Lemovician War, from 1996 onward, under West Miersan president Damian Jackowiak, West Miersa had issued complaints to Lemovicia over their planes overflying West Miersan airspace, with these complaints being ignored. This led to the Miersan National Armed Forces proposing a shootdown of a Lemavia flight in April of 2003, with the intention of "forcing the separatists to cease flying over [West] Miersan airspace," with Jackowiak accepting the proposal to do so.

Crash

Route of Lemavia Flight 1

On Friday 2 May, 2003, Lemavia Flight 1 departed from the gate at Dynsk International Airport at 10:05 local time (11:05 UTC), and took off at 10:27 local time (11:27 UTC). It was due to arrive at Topagunea International Airport at 11:45 local time (12:45 UTC).

At the time that Lemavia Flight 1 entered the Corridor Security Zone at 11:19 local time (12:19 UTC), it was at an altitude of 3,500 metres above sea level. At this point, it was handed over to Topagunea air traffic control, which continued to guide the flight. At 11:22 local time (12:22 UTC), Topagunea ordered Lemavia Flight 1 to begin descending in altitude, in order to prepare for landing at Topagunea International Airport. The pilot responded in the affirmative, and began to descend. Shortly after, at 11:24 local time (12:24 UTC), the plane disappeared from radar just south of Zubizurija, leading to Topagunea attempting to make contact. After seven attempts with no response, Topagunea air traffic control requested at 11:29 (12:29 UTC) that the Revolutionary Defence Forces try to find the plane and "determine its condition." The Revolutionary Defence Forces began preparing to intercept the plane at this point.

At 11:31 local time (12:31 UTC), as reports started coming in from Zubizurija and Goikoecija Beŕija of a mid-air fireball, and debris raining down in the general area, Topagunea ordered the indefinite closure of Lemovician airspace to all civilian flights "until all the facts are known [about the crash, and whether it was safe to continue flying]," and declared the loss of Lemavia Flight 1.

Investigation

Flight recorder from Lemavia Flight 1 at a lab

Almost immediately, the Lemovician government secured the site of the crash, which was situated about fifteen kilometres south of Zubizurija, and seventeen kilometres north of Goikoecija Beŕija, and invited East Miersan and Kirenian investigators to assist the Lemovician government in probing the crash. An announcement was made of the crash at 11:45 local time (12:45 UTC).

The recovery process quickly began, with the flight recorder being retrieved and sent to Dynsk for analysis. As well, bodies were being taken to Zubizurija to be identified: by 8 May, 51 of the 53 bodies were recovered and identified by the investigators, with the two "missing" being Lemovician nationals. The bodies of the twenty-five foreigners were transported by hearse to East Miersa, with plane transport ruled out, out of fear of another shootdown by the West Miersan forces.

On 2 June, the recordings from the flight recorder were released, showing that the plane disintegrated around 11:23 local time (12:23 UTC), with evidence to suggest that upon impact, the plane "immediately disintegrated," with "virtually zero chance those on board survived."

A preliminary report was released on 31 July, which indicated that the plane was hit by a surface-to-air missile fired from West Miersa, as the damage patterns on the plane were "indicative that the missile was of a Samorspi origin," as opposed to a MASSOR origin. It also showed no evidence that the flight was on an aerial reconnaissance mission.

Following the agreement signed in October 2003 between Damian Jackowiak and Ociote Sasiambarena, West Miersa voluntarily cooperated, which led to a final report on 6 November, 2004.

The final report concluded the crash was caused by a TBD surface-to-air missile fired from a military base in Bielbrowa, near the border with Lemovicia and East Miersa, over the Lemovician-controlled city of Zubizurija. It showed that there was only one attempt by the Miersan National Armed Forces to make contact with Lemavia Flight 1 prior to it being shot down, and that the shootdown was "completely intentional," citing documents from the Defense Ministry and the president's office. As well, it concluded that "given the missile hit the right wing of the plane and destroyed a sizable section of the cabin," the plane disintegrated "almost instantly," leaving no chance of anyone on board surviving until the plane hit the ground.

However, the report rebuked the Lemovician government for ignoring the "continued requests sent [by West Miersa] to cease flying over the Corridor Security Zone" since 1996, and for not cooperating with the West Miersans concerning aviation rights, stating that "had a political agreement been signed [between West Miersa and Lemovicia], it would be very unlikely for Lemavia Flight 1 to have been shot in the first place."

Reaction

Lemovician reaction

The Lemovician government condemned the attack, with Chairman of the Presidency Aizkori Aismendi stating that "the evidence at hand suggests an intentional West Miersan surface-to-air missile strike on the aircraft, which brought it down," and urged West Miersa to apologize and compensate the victims of the families. Flags were ordered to fly at half-mast until 9 May, and a day of mourning was declared for 3 May.

In the aftermath of the plane crash, hate crimes against the Miersan community was reported, particularly in Topagunea, where twenty-six assaults against ethnic Miersans were reported, including two murders, in the month following the crash, in addition to the seventy-three instances of harassment against Miersans, including Presidency member Patryk Krawczak, who was was beaten outside the Presidential Palace on 12 May. These crimes were swiftly condemned by the Presidency and by the First Secretary of the Worker's International, Ociote Sasiambarena, and efforts were made to crack down on the ethnic violence.

Following the release of the preliminary report on 31 July, calls for Lemovicia to abrogate the Arciluco Agreement and declare war against West Miersa grew, with heated debates in both the Lemovician Section of the Workers' International and the National Assembly, over whether to abrogate the Arciluco Agreement, and whether to amend the Lemovician constitution to rescind minority language status for Miersan, and remove the guarantee of a Miersan seat in the Presidency.

West Miersan reaction

The West Miersan government was quick to admit responsibility for shooting down the flight, with President Damian Jackowiak saying that "the plane was engaging in an aerial reconnaissance mission over the southern voivodeships of our country," and that "most of the passengers were soldiers heading to the Kirenian base near the occupied city of Włocłamyśl." Jackowiak claimed that "the plane had been contacted six times before we shot it down."

When asked by independent MNA Leopold Piorkowski about the shootdown, Minister-President Tomisław Sobolewski said that "the West Miersans have given ample warning for nearly ten years. They have not listened at all, and because of this, those on that flight paid the ultimate price."

However, the West Miersan government refused to cooperate with the Lemovicians on the investigation, expressing concerns that "Kirenia and its puppet state occupying the eastern voivodeships" would "suppress all evidence of it being on an aerial reconnaissance mission to suit their agendas and narratives." Thus, when their preliminary report was issued on 31 July, the West Miersan government denounced it as a "tool of socialist propaganda."

Some West Miersan officials, notably Artur Matulewicz, claimed that East Miersa shot down the airliner in an attempt to "stoke tensions in central Euclea," and start a second Miersan War.

Following the agreement signed in October 2003 between Damian Jackowiak and Ociote Sasiambarena, West Miersa voluntarily cooperated in the investigation, disclosing the types of missile used, and providing information to help "ensure an accurate conclusion," even while continuing to claim that the plane had been involved in an aerial reconnaissance mission.

International reaction

• Imagua and the Assimas - Imaguan President Ornell Elliott expressed "deep sadness" over the incident, and urged both sides to "settle the issue peacefully."

Aftermath

Memorial to the victims of Lemavia Flight 1, 2009

In the aftermath of the shootdown of Lemavia Flight 1, an international crisis between Lemovicia and West Miersa developed, leading to concerns of renewed conflict in the region, with many political scientists stating that both sides used brinkmanship strategies to try and resolve the crisis. The situation led to increased discrimination of Miersans by Lemovicians, with hate speech and hate crimes against the Miersan community increasing by 64% between January 2003 and January 2004, as well as calls for war against West Miersa, despite efforts by the government to crack down on hate speech and hate crimes.

Fears of war would lead to international mediation led by Slirnia, which led to West Miersa officially apologizing to Lemovicia, and paying 397,191,250Tr (€12,400,400) in compensation to the families of the victims, in exchange for Lemovicia ceasing all flights above the Corridor Security Zone (excluding medical evacuation and search and rescue flights), and agreeing not to pursue further damages or criminal prosecution. The agreement was signed on 16 October in Dražovice, and was ratified by both parties by the end of the month, thereby ending fears of war in the region.

Lemavia immediately halted all flights, and announced that it will retire flight number 1 for its flight from Dynsk to Topagunea. Flights resumed on 17 October, 2003 after the agreement was signed, although the flight to and from Dynsk was now designated as Lemavia Flight 11, and both Flights 2 and 11 would fly over Slirnia proper, as opposed to the direct route that it had flown up until this point. Flight 11 continues to fly to Dynsk by flying over Slirnia, while Flight 2 continues flying to Kordyn by flying over Slirnia.

On 2 May, 2008, a memorial was constructed at the site of the crash, made up of a propeller, and a plaque with three inscriptions meaning Never forgive, never forget, in Lemovician (Ez ahaztu inoiz, ez barkatu), Miersan (Nigdy nie zapominaj, nigdy nie wybaczaj), and Kirenian (Ära kunagi unusta, ära andesta). While the inscription garnered controversy, particularly in West Miersan media, and was objected to by Ociote Sasiambarena, the inscription was kept as it was, and remains there to this day.