Incident Overview

Description
Learjet N350JF was to be ferried from Naples and Luxor to Lanseria via Nairobi. An IFR flight plan was filed from Luxor to Nairobi, via Asmara, then directly over Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia, on Upper Golf 650 airway, but because of the border-crossing prohibition a second flight plan was filed via Djibouti. At 13:30 UTC the crew reported over Asmara at FL450 estimating Assab, at 14:06, then Parim, at 14:14, en route to Djibouti. Somehow, the Learjet strayed off its intended course and moved deep inside Ethiopian no-fly zone from Eritrea’s airspace. Ethiopian military forces thought the plane was Eritrean and decided to shoot down the plane using an anti-aircraft battery. Probable Cause: “While flying in a no-fly zone- a route closed by a NOTAM- N350JF was mistaken for an Eritreaian fighter aircraft with a hostile intention, and hence was hit by a missile fired by the Ethiopian Defense Force and destroyed.”
Primary Cause
Mistaken Identification of an Eritrean Fighter Aircraft by Ethiopian Military Forces.Mistaken Identification of an Eritrean Fighter Aircraft by Ethiopian Military Forces.Share on: