Vagif Gurbanov

Vagif Gurbanov (Azerbaijani: Vaqif Qurbanov; 1967, Baku, Azerbaijan SSR – 13 June 1992, Askeran, Azerbaijan) was a warrior during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War (1992) and the first military aviator of independent Azerbaijani Armed Forces.[1]

Vagif Gurbanov
Native name
Vaqif Qurbanov
Born1967
Baku, Azerbaijan SSR
DiedJune 13, 1992(1992-06-13) (aged 24–25)
Askeran, Azerbaijan
Allegiance Azerbaijan
Service/branch Azerbaijani Armed Forces
RankSenior lieutenant
Battles/warsFirst Nagorno-Karabakh War

Early life

Vagif Gurbanov, originally from Qovlar, Tovuz, Azerbaijan,[2] was born in 1967 in Baku. In 1992, he was legally declared dead by Baku City Nizami District Court.

Early military service

Gurbanov was a graduate of Borisoglebsk Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots in Borisoglebsk.[3] After completing his education, he served in the USSR Air Force as an officer in the Sitalchay Aviation Regiment, in an airbase organized during the Afghan war and equipped with Su-25 aircraft. He later served in one of the aviation regiments in Azerbaijan. He participated in the creation of military regiments in Ganja, Yevlakh and Kurdamir.

First Nagorno-Karabakh War

Hijacking of the Su-25 military aircraft

According to the preliminary plan, Su-25 aircraft from the Sitalchay military airport of the CIS Air Force, located at the 80th dislocated air regiment, was to be flown to Khojaly during the training flight and bombed Khojaly Airport. To this end, the Ministry of Internal Affairs official Akif Hajiyev was in contact with Vagif, promising that he would produce documents under a different name and Vagif would be able to live under a new name following the implementation of the plan. But Gurbanov did not consider this plan to be real as the ammunition on board during the training flight was not enough for the realization of the plan.[2][4]

According to the amended plan, on April 8, 1992, Senior Lieutenant Gurbanov hijacked and transferred Su-25 military aircraft to Azerbaijan with the assistance of Azerbaijani fellow countrymen, technical aircraft Lieutenant Fuad Mammadov[5] and Chief Airman Sergeant Akif Guliyev.[6] It was the first fighter aircraft in the arsenal of the Azerbaijani Air Force.[7] Chief technician Gulbudag Binyatov was also involved in the hijacking. The plane landed at Yevlakh civil airport.

Immediately following the hijacking of the aircraft, special inspection and control measures were instituted. The search crew was tasked with destroying the military aircraft unconditionally and without warning. Therefore, the military aircraft was temporarily hidden under straw at Sheki airport outside the settlements.[2] Gulbudag Binyatov and other aviation experts, involved in the hijacking of a military aircraft, left the Sitalchay military airport just two days later in order to avoid suspicions.

Although the Russian government demanded the return of the aircraft, the aircraft remained at the airport. The Ministry of Defence of Russia created a special squad consisting of two MiG-23s at Georgia's Vaziani Military Base, to destroy the hijacked Su-25;[8] but could not succeed.

Major battles

Gurbanov's first aviation assignment was duty in Shusha, where he operated the first fighter aircraft of the Republic of Azerbaijan for the first time. On May 8, 1992 he began military flights over Shusha.[9] Low-flying aircraft resulted in damage to aircraft engine.[10] The new engine was purchased from the Georgian Vaziani Military Base, sponsored by Surat Huseynov. On May 8 and 9, Gurbanov's raid killed 30 soldiers of Armenian armed groups and wounded 120 of them. According to Armenians' allegations, all the dead were civilians.

On May 9, 1992, Vagif Gurbanov attacked an Armenian Yak-40 aircraft flying from Khankendi to Yerevan.[6] Shooting down aircraft made a safe and emergency landing at Sisian airfield with no fatalities. All passengers were evacuated safely and the plane was completely ignited.[11][12][13] The fire completely destroyed the aircraft.

On June 12, a Su-25 aircraft operated by Vagif Gurbanov broke down the enemy's defensive line in Shaumyan and resulted in the release of up to 20 settlements from Armenian military units. Gurbanov also participated in the battles around Martuni, the villages of Shosh, and Khramort in the Askeran district, as well as in Chaykand and Ai-Paris. As a result, the opposing party suffered heavy losses.

Death

On June 13, 1992, Vagif conducted three combat flights on Aghdara-Goranboy direction. Gurbanov's Su-25 aircraft was shot down by the Armenian armed forces at about 4-5 pm with a Shilka rifle near Nakhichevanik-Askeran. According to witnesses, Vagif Gurbanov was dropped by parachute from aircraft at that moment, but the enemy shoots him from the ground by SA-14 missile. Battalion Commander Fred Asif's brother, Adalat Maharramov, remembers those days and states that he saw Vagif being shot down and fired by the Armenians. Although the Azerbaijani side attacked to save Gurbanov of the enemy, it was too late.

The death of the pilot, who threatened the Armenians, was met with joy on the Armenian side. Armenian television has repeatedly shown the remnants of the aircraft.[8]

However, it is not known if Vagif was alive. It was rumored that Gurbanov became a landmine victim. Even though the intelligence team had been sent to that location, they returned empty-handed. As per another rumor, Vagif survived and was taken to an unknown direction after being taken to Aghdam hospital. His friend Fuad Mammadov had been said that he was found wounded at Zabrat Airport. However, none of this information has been confirmed. An investigation was carried out on Vagif Gurbanov, with the instructions of Namig Abbasov, the chairman of the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons. But that doesn't work either. Family members and his friend Fuad Mammadov also visit psychic and fortune teller as the last hope. No matter how weird it is, no "visionary" says that he died.

A submission had already been made to give the title of National Hero to Vagif Gurbanov. However, at that time, Deputy Prime Minister Surat Huseynov advised that they should wait while he would be alive, and that it would have negative consequences for Vagif in terms of the Armenian attitude. In later years the issue had not been reconsidered. Vagif Gurbanov and his comrades, as well as servicemen involved in the hijacking of Su-25 aircraft were not given any honorary titles.[2]

Personal life

On April 20, 1991, he married Nazakat Gurbanova. The couple had a daughter: Sevinj. She is also a military officer like her dad.

Legacy

In 2014, director Samir Kerimoglu made a film titled I'm back home about hijacking of a Su-25 fighter aircraft by Vagif Gurbanov.[3]

References
  1. Денис Кацевич (2017-09-25). "Биография Вагиф Курбанов" (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  2. Elnur Eltürk (2013-01-15). "Sovet ordusundan hərbi təyyarə qaçıran - Vaqif Qurbanov" (in Azerbaijani). Archived from the original on 2019-11-17. Retrieved 2019-11-21.
  3. "Hərbi hissədə "Mən evə qayıdıram" bədii filmi nümayiş etdirilib" [In the military unit a fiction film I'm back home was shown]. mod.gov.az (in Azerbaijani). 2018-02-26. Archived from the original on 2019-11-21.
  4. Terrorism, 1992-1995: A Chronology of Events and a Selectively Annotated Bibliography. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. 1997. p. 151. ISBN 9780313304682.
  5. "Lieutant General Mammadov Fuad Nadir oglu, Deputy Minister of Defence for Logistics – Chief of the main department for Logistic Support". Archived from the original on 2019-11-26.
  6. Şəmsəddin Axundov (2012). "Azərbaycanda aviasiyanın tarixi" (PDF) (in Azerbaijani). National Aviation Academy, National Library of Azerbaijan. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  7. "Bu gün Azərbaycanda Hərbi Hava Qüvvələri Günüdür" (in Azerbaijani). 2018-02-14. Archived from the original on 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  8. Yusif Kərimov (2013-06-25). "Hərbi aviasiyamızın ilk "qaranquşları", yaxud "qaçqın" təyyarənin aqibəti..." (in Azerbaijani). Archived from the original on 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  9. "Вагиф Гурбанов" (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  10. Nazim Bayram (2019-08-22). "Azərbaycan hərbi pilotlarının döyüş və qeyri-döyüş MACƏRALARI" (in Azerbaijani). Archived from the original on 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  11. Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Yakovlev 40 registration unknown Stepanakert". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2018-01-12.
  12. "CIS region - Авиация в локальных конфликтах - www.skywar.ru". www.skywar.ru. Retrieved 2018-01-12.
  13. "U.S. Department of Transportation "Criminal Acts Against Civil Aviation"" (PDF). p. 13.

Sources
  • Ч.Султанов, "Победа Азербайджана в "Холодной Войне" с Арменией".
  • Жирохов Михаил, «Воздушная война в Нагорном Карабахе» (журнал Авиамастер No. 6/2000 г. стр.5)
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