KOREAN AIR LINES FLIGHT 007
On September 1, 1983, Korean Air Lines Flight 007 was shot down by a Soviet Sukhoi Su-15 fighter, while en route from New York to Seoul, South Korea. The Flight 007 was a scheduled flight from New York to Seoul, South Korea, with a stopover at Anchorage, Alaska. The aircraft involved, was a Boeing 747-230B, registered as HL7442. After a stopover at Anchorage, Alaska, it was flying the second leg of the flight, from Anchorage to Seoul. On the second leg of the flight, the pilot-in-command was captain Chun Byung-in. The first officer was Son Dong-hui, and the flight engineer was Kim Eui-dong. On this leg, the Flight 007 deviated from its original planned route, and flew through Soviet prohibited airspace. The Soviet Air Forces treated the unidentified aircraft as an intruding US spy plane, and proceeded to destroy it with air-to-air missiles, after firing warning shots, which were likely not seen by the Korean pilots. The aircraft eventually crashed into the Sea of Japan, near Moneron Island, west of Sakhalin. All 269 people on board were killed.
After taking off from Anchorage, the flight was instructed by air traffic control to turn to a heading of 220 degrees. Approximately 90 seconds later, air traffic control directed the flight to proceed direct to Bethel, when able. At that point, the Flight 007 entered the northernmost of five airways, known as the North Pacific routes (NOPAC), that bridge the Alaskan and Japanese coasts. That particular airway passes just 28 kilometers from what was then Soviet airspace off the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula. At about 10 minutes after takeoff, the Flight 007 began to deviate to the right (north) of its assigned route to Bethel, and continued to fly on this constant heading for the next five and a half hours. At 28 minutes after takeoff, civilian radar at Kenai Peninsula, on the eastern shore of Cook Inlet, tracked the Flight 007 flying nine kilometers north of where it should have been. When the Flight 007 did not reach Bethel at 50 minutes after takeoff, a military radar at King Salmon, Alaska, tracked the Flight 007 at 23.3 kilometers north of where it should have been. There is no evidence to indicate, that civil air traffic controllers or military radar personnel at Elmendorf Air Force Base (who were in a position to receive the King Salmon radar output), were aware of the Flight 007's deviation in real-time, and therefore able to warn the aircraft. The Flight 007 continued its journey, ever increasing its deviation, which was 110 kilometers off course at waypoint NABIE, 190 kilometers off course at waypoint NUKKS, and 300 kilometers off course at waypoint NEEVA, until it reached the Kamchatka Peninsula. According to Soviet sources, at 15:51 UTC, the Flight 007 entered the restricted airspace of the Kamchatka Peninsula. When the Flight 007 was about 130 kilometres from the Kamchatka coast, Soviet Air Force MiG-23 fighters were scrambled to intercept the aircraft. Because a US Boeing RC-135 intelligence plane was flying in the area east off Kamchatka, the Soviet defence forces probably thought the Flight 007 radar echo to be the RC-135. The Flight 007 crossed over the Kamchatka Peninsula, and left Soviet airspace back into international airspace over the Sea of Okhotsk, without being intercepted. The Soviet fighters returned to their base, and the Flight 007 remained unidentified to them. Units of the Soviet Air Defence Forces, that had been tracking the Flight 007 for more than an hour now, since it entered and left Soviet airspace, now classified the aircraft as a military target, when it entered again Soviet airspace over Sakhalin. After the protracted ground-controlled interception, the three Sukhoi Su-15 fighters from nearby Dolinsk-Sokol Air Base, and the MiG-23 from Smirnykh Air Base, managed to make visual contact with the Flight 007. The pilot of the lead Sukhoi Su-15 fighter fired warning shots. At this point, the Flight 007 contacted Tokyo Area Control Center, requesting clearance to ascend to a higher flight level, for reasons of fuel economy. The request was granted, so the aircraft started to climb, gradually slowing as it exchanged speed for altitude. The decrease in speed caused the pursuing fighter to overshoot the aircraft, and was interpreted by the Soviet pilot as an evasive maneuver. The order to shoot the Flight 007 down, was given as it was about to leave Soviet airspace for the second time. Under pressure from the commander of Dolinsk-Sokol Air Base, and ground controllers not to let the aircraft escape into international airspace, the lead Sukhoi Su-15 fighter was able to move back into a position, where it could fire two K-8 air-to-air missiles at the aircraft.
The Soviet Union initially denied knowledge of the incident, but later admitted shooting down the aircraft, claiming that it was on a spy mission. The Soviet Union stated, that it was a deliberate provocation by the United States, to probe the Soviet Union's military preparedness, or even to provoke a war.
The Soviets found the wreckage under the sea on September 15, and found the flight recorders in October, but this information was kept hidden from the International Civil Aviation Organization investigation. They were released in 1993, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Tapes recovered from the aircraft's cockpit voice recorder, indicated that the crew were unaware, that they were off course, and violating Soviet airspace.
NOTABLE AVIATION ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENTS