AustroAir Flight 31
 The aircraft's vertical stabilizer after its recovery from the sea | |
| Shootdown | |
|---|---|
| Date | 21 March 2022 |
| Summary | Shootdown |
| Site | Sea of Austrolis |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Toring 797 |
| Operator | AustroAir |
| Call sign | AUS 31 |
| Flight origin | Feldkirch International Airport Feldkirch, Baushland, Austrolis |
| Destination | Leonrau International Airport, Leonrau, Qolaysia |
| Occupants | 482 |
| Passengers | 460 |
| Crew | 22 |
| Fatalities | 482 |
| Survivors | 0 |
AustroAir Flight 31 was a scheduled AustroAir flight operating on the Feldkirch-Leonrau route. On 21 March 2022, the Toring 797 was shot down over the Sea of Austrolis. The shootdown occurred during the civil war in Apatonia, and the plane was hit by a surface-to-air missile fired by forces loyal to Michel Lukonde, who were fighting against rebel forces and the Unified Seran military. All 460 passengers and 22 crew were killed. The event is the deadliest aviation disaster in history. It was the first of multiple commercial airliner shootdowns during 2022, including AeroParaboca Flight 8 over the Sancheon Gulf in May.
Background
Lukonde-loyalists had been known to fire surface to air missiles at neutral targets from dozens of miles away as a way to practice against Unified Seran warplanes. Unified Seran forces had been fighting in Apatonia as they sought to seize the capital of Sifondo from Lukonde's regime and help install a new government.
Shootdown
On 21 March 2022, AustroAir Flight 31 took off from Feldkirch, Austrolis, on a routine flight to Leonrau, Qolaysia. According to the original flight plan, AUS31 was to fly over the Sea of Austrolis at flight level 330 (33,000 feet or 10,060 metres) before diverting over Unified Sera to avoid the conflict zone in Apatonia. At 16:20:03 local time (13:20:03 UTC) a ground-to-air missile, which had been launched from an area near the city of Misamba in Apatonia, at the time under Lukonde's control, detonated outside the airplane, just above and to the left of the cockpit. An explosive decompression occurred, resulting in both the cockpit and tail sections tearing away from the middle portion of the fuselage. All three sections disintegrated as they fell towards the water.
The incident sits as the deadliest crash in aviation history. A Toring 797 is a Zamastanian-made passenger plane which has a passenger capacity of 467–605 people, and authorities said that flight records labeled 460 passengers and 22 crew members aboard, all of whom died. A T-797 is a heavy, four‑engine, partial double deck, twin–aisle main deck, single–aisle upper deck, medium- to long-range widebody aircraft and was the largest passenger plane constructed until the introduction of the T-818 in 2006.
Recovery of wreckage and bodies
By early afternoon, officials with AustroAir and the Austrolis government had already presumed the aircraft had been lost with no survivors. An AustroAir spokesperson told Feldkirch Federal that "no hope for survivors" remained. A Zamastanian Air Force Z-14 Osprey spotted wreckage and signs of oil, possibly jet fuel, strewn along a 5 km (3 mi; 3 nmi) band 60 miles north-west of Apatonia. The sighted wreckage included an aircraft seat, an orange buoy, a barrel, and "white pieces and electrical conductors".
Victims
| Nation | Number |
|---|---|
| Albarine | 10 |
| Austrolis | 322 |
| Buckingla | 2 |
| Nebetia | 1 |
| Peoratia | 4 |
| Qolaysia | 98 |
| Saint Croix and Bens | 11 |
| Yuan | 29 |
| Zamastan | 5 |
| Total | 482 |
Reactions
About 90 minutes after the incident, Austrolis closed all routes in South Adulan airspace, at all altitudes. The incident dramatically heightened fears about airliner shoot-downs, leading to some airlines announcing they would avoid overflying conflict zones.
"This is a devastating day and a devastating loss with the presumed toll of 482 lives aboard AustroAir Flight 31," President Amanda Ferosan said. "We will get to the bottom of this horrific tragedy and determine what caused this crash, if anyone is responsible for said incident, and how we will work to mediate issues presenting themselves."
Investigations
Soon after the crash both Austrolisian and Zamastanian officials said that a 9M38 series surface-to-air missile strike was the most likely cause. If so, then the missile was fired from a mobile UCSS-designed missile system. According to investigators, the missile that struck the plane traveled at least 87 miles to reach the plane, indicating a manual and intentional aim.
The Austrolis government, as well as the governments of each nation with victims aboard the flight, issued arrest warrants for Michel Lukonde and called on him and his top military officials to be tried in a court of international law. Lukonde fled Apatonia on March 27th and found asylum in Elastan, shortly after Unified Seran and rebel forces captured Sifondo.