| 1985 Zolochiv mid-air collision | |
| Date: | 3 May 1985 |
| Type: | Mid-air collision involving ATC errors |
| Occurrence Type: | Accident |
| Site: | Near Zolochiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Total Fatalities: | 94 |
| Total Survivors: | 0 |
| Plane1 Type: | Tupolev Tu-134A |
| Plane1 Image: | Aeroflot Tu-134A CCCP-65972 3.jpg |
| Plane1 Caption: | A Tu-134 similar to the one that crashed |
| Plane1 Operator: | Aeroflot |
| Plane1 Tailnum: | CCCP-65856 |
| Plane1 Origin: | Tallinn Airport, Estonian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Plane1 Stopover: | Lviv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Plane1 Destination: | Chişinău, Moldavian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Plane1 Passengers: | 73 |
| Plane1 Crew: | 6 |
| Plane1 Fatalities: | 79 |
| Plane1 Survivors: | 0 |
| Plane2 Type: | Antonov An-26 |
| Plane2 Image: | Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Air Enterprise Antonov An-26B-100.jpg |
| Plane2 Caption: | An Antonov An-26 similar to the one that crashed. |
| Plane2 Operator: | Soviet Air Force |
| Plane2 Tailnum: | CCCP-26492 (101 red) |
| Plane2 Passengers: | 9 |
| Plane2 Crew: | 6 |
| Plane2 Fatalities: | 15 |
| Plane2 Survivors: | 0 |
The 1985 Zolochiv mid-air collision occurred on 3 May 1985 between Aeroflot Flight 8381 (Tu-134) and Soviet Air Force Flight 101 (An-26).
Aeroflot Flight 8381, a scheduled flight of a twin-engine Tupolev Tu-134 that departed Tallinn Airport in Estonian SSR, Soviet Union, at 10:38 am on 3 May 1985, for Chişinău in Moldavian SSR, Soviet Union making a stopover at Lviv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union. While descending to Lviv in overcast weather, it collided at 12:13 with Soviet Air Force Flight 101 which had just taken off from Lviv. The collision occurred at an altitude of (flight level 130). Both aircraft lost their right wings and tails, went out of control and crashed about one or two minutes later near the village of Zolochiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union, killing all 94 people on both aircraft.[1] [2]
Civil and military air traffic controllers mislocated both aircraft involved, leading to violations of air traffic control rules. Among the victims of the disaster were graphics artist Alexander Aksinin, the young Estonian table-tennis player Alari Lindmäe (born 15 September 1967) and two generals of the Soviet Army. The captain of the Aeroflot aircraft, Nikolai Dmitrijev (born 18 October 1931), was a Hero of Socialist Labor and one of the Soviet Union's most decorated civil airline pilots.[3]