Royal Airlines Flight 85
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 Royal Airlines Flight 85 is similar to the Boeing 737 shown here | |
| Shootdown | |
|---|---|
| Date | 22 March 1981 |
| Summary | Shot down by a surface-to-air missile operated by the Marasalian Ground Forces |
| Site | Near Blugança, Marasalia |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 737-200 |
| Operator | Royal Airlines |
| IATA flight No. | RA85 |
| ICAO flight No. | ROY85 |
| Call sign | Royal 85 |
| Flight origin | Ataragze International Airport, Parcia |
| Destination | Parnatos International Airport, Marasalia |
| Occupants | 108 |
| Passengers | 102 |
| Crew | 6 |
| Fatalities | 108 |
| Survivors | 0 |
Royal Airlines Flight 85 (RA85) was a scheduled passenger flight from Ataragze to Parnatos that was shot down on 22 March 1981 while flying over eastern Marasalia. All passengers and crew were killed. Contact with the aircraft, a Boeing 737-200, was lost after a second diversion north of Blugança, in order to avoid rough air as a result of a thunderstorm. The shootdown occurred during a top-secret training program. 14 hours after the shooting, the Marasalian Airforce claimed to have shot down a Yamatai spy plane.
The responsibility for investigating the aircraft downing went to the Marasalian Air Traffic Policing Organization, which was responsible for investigating and maintaining civilian flights in Marasalian airspace. It concluded that a MIM-14 Nike missile hit the aircraft, causing it to detonate in mid-air. The Marasalian Army declared later in the day of the shooting that it shot down a Yamatai spy plane, but later retracted and apologized for the incident. The Air Traffic Police Organization sued the Marasalian Army in the Marasalian Supreme Court, declaring that there was "criminal negligence" in failing to let the organization know that they were doing top secret trails, and making "less than reasonable" attempts to contact the aircraft. The Supreme Court agreed, charging the commanding officer with 108 counts of negligent homicide and the other individuals in the unit with criminal negligence.
Passenger and crew
The incident is the deadliest airline accident in Marasalian history, claiming the lives of all 102 passengers and 6 crew. By 14 April 1981, the entire passenger list had been identified. The crew was all Parcian, and over half of the passengers were Parcian.
The flight crew were captains Adelina Carballo and Rafael Castellano.