Historical eventOctober 201986

Aeroflot Flight 6502

Aeroflot Flight 6502 crashed on approach to Kurumoch Airport in Samara, Russia (then Kuybyshev in the Soviet Union), killing 70 people on board.

40th anniversary in 2026

Everything on October 20Original source

In context

When
Monday, October 20 198640 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
20th century · 1980s
Anniversary
40th in 2026
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: From 1986.

What happened

Aeroflot Flight 6502 crashed on approach to Kurumoch Airport in Samara, Russia (then Kuybyshev in the Soviet Union), killing 70 people on board.

October 20 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1986Aeroflot Flight 6502
  2. 1995Space Shuttle Columbia
  3. 2002Top Gear (2002 TV series)
  4. 2003Sloan Great Wall
  5. 2005UNESCO
  6. 2011Libyan crisis
  7. 2011Libyan civil war (2011)
  8. 2017Syrian civil war
  9. 2022Liz Truss
  10. 20222022 Chadian protests
  11. 2024Prabowo Subianto

Also in 1986

  • September 131986 Kalamata earthquakeA magnitude 6.0 earthquake strikes Kalamata, Greece with a maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), killing at least 20 and ca…
  • September 5Pan Am Flight 73Pan Am Flight 73 from Mumbai, India with 358 people on board is hijacked at Karachi International Airport.
  • November 17Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 1628The flight crew of Japan Airlines Flight 1628 are involved in a UFO sighting incident while flying over Alaska.
  • May 25Hands Across AmericaThe Hands Across America event takes place.
  • June 14Mindbender (Galaxyland)The Mindbender derails, killing three riders and severely injuring one at the Fantasyland (known today as Galaxyland) indoor amusement pa…
  • November 5USS RentzUSS Rentz, USS Reeves and USS Oldendorf visit Qingdao, China; the first US naval visit to China since 1949.
  • July 9New Zealand ParliamentThe New Zealand Parliament passes the Homosexual Law Reform Act legalising homosexuality in New Zealand.
  • January 18AerovíasAn Aerovías Sud Aviation Caravelle crashes on approach to Mundo Maya International Airport in Flores, Petén, Guatemala, killing all 94 pe…

Everything we record for 1986 →

Sources

Cite this page

“Aeroflot Flight 6502”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/aeroflot-flight-6502-1986-october-20, accessed October 27, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about this entry

When did Aeroflot Flight 6502 happen?

October 20 1986 — 40 years ago, on a Monday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

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