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| Date: | Monday 29 June 1987 |
| Time: | |
| Type: | Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird |
| Owner/operator: | United States Air Force - USAF |
| Registration: | |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Minor |
| Location: | above the Baltic Sea -
 Denmark
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | |
An SR-71 was on a mission around the Baltic Sea to spy on Soviet postings when one of the engines exploded. The aircraft, which was at about 65,000 ft altitude, quickly descended and turned 180° to the left and turned over Gotland to search for the Swedish coast. Thus, Swedish airspace was violated, whereupon two armed Saab JA 37 Viggens on an exercise at the height of Västervik were ordered there. The mission was to do an incident preparedness check and identify an aircraft of high interest. It was found that the plane was in obvious distress and a decision was made that the Swedish Air Force would escort the plane out of the Baltic Sea. A second round of armed JA-37s from Ängelholm replaced the first pair and completed the escort to Danish airspace.
Sources:
https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2018/12/30/finally-declassified-swedish-pilots-awarded-us-air-medals-for-saving-sr-71-spy-plane/
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a25349308/swedish-pilots-medals-sr-71-blackbird/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_SR-71_Blackbird
Media:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 05-Aug-2022 05:45 | nhofmann54 | Added |
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