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Korean Air Flight 007

Korean Air Lines Flight 007
1981-09-15 12-00-00 United States Hawaii Aliamanu 2.JPG
HL7442, the aircraft that was shot down, parked at Honolulu International Airport on September 15, 1981
Shootdown summary
Date September 1, 1983
Summary Shootdown by Soviet military
Site Near Moneron Island, west of Sakhalin Island, Soviet Union
46°34′N 141°17′E / 46.567°N 141.283°E / 46.567; 141.283 (KAL007)Coordinates: 46°34′N 141°17′E / 46.567°N 141.283°E / 46.567; 141.283 (KAL007)
Passengers 246
Crew 23
Fatalities 269 (all)
Survivors 0
Aircraft type Boeing 747-230B
Operator Korean Air Lines
Registration HL7442 (previously D-ABYH)
Flight origin John F. Kennedy International Airport,
New York City, New York, U.S.
Stopover Anchorage International Airport,
Anchorage, Alaska, U.S.
Destination Gimpo International Airport,
Gangseo-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Korean Air Lines Flight 007 (also known as KAL007 and KE007) was a scheduled Korean Air Lines flight from New York City to Seoul via Anchorage, Alaska. On September 1, 1983, the South Korean airliner serving the flight was shot down by a Soviet Su-15 interceptor. It crashed in the sea near Moneron Island west of Sakhalin in the Sea of Japan. All 269 passengers and crew aboard were killed, including Larry McDonald, a Representative from Georgia in the United States House of Representatives. The aircraft was en route from Anchorage to Seoul when it flew through Soviet prohibited airspace around the time of a U.S. aerial reconnaissance mission. The Soviets found the wreckage under the sea on September 15, and found the in-flight recorders in October, but kept this information secret until 1993.

The Soviet Union initially denied knowledge of the incident, but later admitted shooting down the aircraft, claiming that it was on a MASINT spy mission. The Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union said it was a deliberate provocation by the United States to test the Soviet Union's military preparedness, or even to provoke a war. The White House accused the Soviet Union of obstructing search and rescue operations. The Soviet Armed Forces suppressed evidence sought by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) investigation, such as the flight data recorders, which were released eight years later after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.


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