Belarusian International Lines IL-86

Belarusian International Lines (Беларускія міжнародныя лініі) was founded by the Belarusian state after it gained independence. It was a reorganization of Aeroflot's Minsk based division, and was nationalized as one of the new president's first acts in late 1994. It wasn't until after the 1995 referendum that changed Belarus's flag that Belarusian International Lines gained any sort of brand identity with the introduction of the БМЛ wordmark and twin bird logo. It would take nearly a decade before all of the fleet was repainted in this livery and the airline truly became БМЛ. This air-frame, EW-054BI, was one of the first in the fleet to receive the new paint scheme. It was the only IL-86 the airline ever operated and it was procured via a trade with one of the other Babyflots and was christened Менск (Minsk). It operated a flagship service from Minsk to New York with stopovers in Shannon and Halifax for about two years before the consistently unprofitable service was terminated. The IL-86 was then used on peak flights to St Petersburg and Moscow.
БМЛ was saved from needing to find someone to sell the aging aircraft to when it the aircraft was lost following a mysterious incident in February 2001. The best explanation, and explanation detailed in the official report, is that the IL-86 lost pressurization during a flight from Minsk to Moscow due to some electrical failure or pilot error, leaving the flight crew and all passengers incapacitated. A lack of radio contact was noted shortly after take off and the plane gained a fighter escort as it crossed the Russian border. The fighter pilot observed and reported that figures in the plane were slumped and appeared unconscious, including in the cockpit. Unable to confirm the plane's fuel load or project a theoretical course and without any signs of life on board, the Russian government ordered the plane shot down before it could endanger a populated area. The incident killed all 238 passengers and crew onboard and sparked a serious international crisis. Russia to this day refuses to pay any recompense or even admit fault, as they say that the people on the plane were already suffocated when it was shot down and the blame is on the Belarusian government for improper maintenance and staff training in its national airline. The population of Belarus rejected this conclusion, and Russia's response to the incident is said to be one of the major contributing factors in Belarus's shift away from Russia and towards the EU. This pivot was so widespread among the populous that Lukashenko was deposed in 2004 in part due to his suggestions that Russia might be right. The Belarussian government that replaced Lukashenko vehemently denies the Russian conclusion, claiming that if the Russians had waited longer, perhaps something might have been done to safe the aircraft and people on board. Since the aircraft was almost totally obliterated by the missile and then the ground, there is no concrete evidence to confirm whether anyone was still alive at the time the plane was shot down, or even trace the origin of the pressurization fault. Either way, БМЛ lost its flagship, no longer operates any wide-body aircraft, and didn't operate any flights over Russian airspace for nearly a decade after the incident.