September 27
2020
Second Nagorno‑Karabakh War (2020)
From 27 September to early November 2020, fighting erupted across Nagorno‑Karabakh and several surrounding Azerbaijani districts. The 44‑day war combined artillery, armored assaults and a new generation of drone warfare. It ended with a Russian‑brokered ceasefire signed on 9 November 2020 and coming into effect on 10 November 2020 (Moscow time), major territorial shifts in Azerbaijan’s favor, the deployment of Russian peacekeepers, and a humanitarian toll that left thousands dead, dozens of towns damaged, and tens of thousands displaced. Read more
2014
2014 Mount Ontake eruption
On September 27, 2014, Mount Ontake, a beloved pilgrimage and hiking mountain in central Japan, produced a sudden phreatic (steam‑driven) eruption near its summit at about 11:52 a.m. JST. The blast sent ash, rock and gas down the slopes, catching hundreds of climbers by surprise and ultimately killing 63 people. The disaster exposed the limits of volcanic prediction, strained rescue teams working under continuing hazard, and prompted changes in monitoring, warning and mountain‑access policies. Read more
1993
1993 Sukhumi airliner attacks
In mid–late September 1993, during the final week of the Battle of Sukhumi in Abkhazia, civilian aircraft attempting evacuations and relief flights were fired on in the contested airspace and at the city’s airport. As the siege tightened and land corridors closed, small passenger and transport planes became lifelines for tens of thousands of trapped civilians — and, in several documented incidents, targets. The attacks contributed to civilian deaths, halted evacuations, and left questions about responsibility that remain contested decades later. Read more
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1977
Japan Air Lines Flight 715 crash
On 27 September 1977, Japan Air Lines Flight 715 struck terrain while on approach to Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport at Subang, near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The jet descended below published safe altitudes in reduced visibility, colliding short of the runway; the wreck was destroyed and the accident resulted in multiple fatalities and injuries. Investigators later attributed the accident to controlled flight into terrain and highlighted crew procedural and situational‑awareness failures that echoed through aviation safety reforms in subsequent years.
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1944
Kassel Mission (United States Eighth Air Force raid, 27 September 1944)
On September 27, 1944, formations of the U.S. Eighth Air Force launched a deep daylight raid against the industrial city of Kassel, Germany, aiming to cripple tank production and rail movement. The mission struck vital factories and marshalling yards but ran into concentrated German flak and fighter attacks when parts of the bomber stream became separated. The raid inflicted heavy damage on the target and inflicted costly losses on the attacking force—an episode that shaped escort tactics and the wartime calculus of strategic daylight bombing.
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