1991 Azerbaijani Mil Mi-8 shootdown
A Mil Mi-8 similar to the aircraft shot down
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| Date | November 20, 1991 |
| Summary | Shootdown |
| Site | Karakend, near Khojavend, Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan |
| Fatalities | 22 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft type | Assault transport helicopter |
| Aircraft name | MI-8 |
| Flight origin | Agdam |
| Destination | Khojavend |
The 1991 Azerbaijan MI-8 helicopter shootdown, also known as the Karakend tragedy in Azerbaijan, occurred on November 20, 1991, when an Azerbaijani MI-8 military helicopter, carrying a peacekeeping mission team consisting of 13 Azerbaijani government officials, 2 Russian and 1 Kazakhstani Ministry of Internal Affairs officials, 3 Azerbaijani journalists and 3 helicopter crew was shot down amidst heavy fighting near the Karakend village of Khojavend district in Nagorno-Karabakh. All 22 people (19 passengers and 3 crew) on board were killed in the crash.
In accordance with the Zheleznovodsk communique initiated by Boris Yeltsin and Nursultan Nazarbayev in the Russian city of Zheleznovodsk for the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and their subsequent shuttle diplomacy visit to the region on September 1991, officials from Russia and Kazakhstan were placed in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast ("NKAO") for an observation mission. On the eve of the crash, the Armenian side refused to continue the peace talks with Azerbaijan until Azerbaijan re-opened the natural gas supply to Armenia, which it ceased on November 4. The team of observers along with representatives of Azerbaijani government were to fly from Agdam to Khojavend due to rising tension in the district.
Helicopter MI-8 with the peacekeeping team departed from Agdam with 22 people on board and was shot down en route by Armenian attack using a group of ZSU-23-4 Shilka and SA-6 missiles, killing everyone on board. The attack on the helicopter disrupted the ongoing peace talks.
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