1982 Nicaraguan Air Force Mil Mi-8 crash

On 9 December 1982 during the Nicaraguan Revolution, a Nicaraguan Air Force Mil Mi-8TV carrying out an emergency evacuation crashed and burned down in North Nicaragua near the border with Honduras in the San Andres de Bocay area, Chinandega Department, killing 84 people on board, including 75 young children who were being evacuated from the area. The four crew members, one woman and three other children survived the crash.

The government declared three days of mourning.

It is the deadliest crash ever to occur in Nicaraguan land and, to this day, the cause of the crash remains disputed.

Background

During the 1980s, Nicaragua was experiencing ongoing conflict with Contras, anti-Sandinista forces, who were reportedly supported by external actors. Indigenous communities, including the Miskito, Sumu, and Rama peoples, were affected by these clashes along the northern border with Honduras.

The Nicaraguan government stated they protected civilians, particularly children, from the dangers posed by armed groups in the region by evacuating them. Tens of thousands of people had been displaced from the border areas during this period.

The indigenous people are generally opposed to the policies of the leftist Sandinista government of Nicaragua and report that they are being moved to other parts of Nicaragua against their will.

Crash

The flight was carried out by a Soviet made Nicaraguan Air Force helicopter (Mil Mi-8) with a loading capacity of 2950kg. It was deployed to evacuate indigenous children from the Ayapal mountain areas, areas affected by repeated armed incursions and violence. On board were at 78 indigenous Miskito children between 1 and 4 years old, 10 women and four crew members.

The helicopter departed from the town of San Andres de Bocay. It crashed in a mountainous area in North Nicaragua near the border with Honduras in the San Andres de Bocay area, Chinandega Department, approximately 220 km from Managua. The helicopter caught fire upon impact, and resulted that many of people on board were burned.

Initial reports reported that crash resulted in the deaths of 75 indigenous children. Eight people survived the crash. The survivors were three children, a woman, and the four crew members. The people who survived were thrown out of the helicopter before it crashed. In the week after the accident, the total death toll rose to 84, after more bodies were found in the wreckage.

The victims were being transported from areas near the Honduran border, a region that had been designated a military zone due to ongoing conflicts with U.S.-backed rightist guerrillas.