September 1, 1983

[RitterKreuz]

Korean Airlines Flight 007 - while en route from Anchorage Alaska bound for Seoul, South Korea - strayed into prohibited Soviet airspace due to a navigational error prompting an intercept by soviet fighter aircraft.

The soviet aircraft promptly shot down the Korean Airlines 747, which resulted in the loss of 269 lives, including one sitting United States Congressman Lawrence McDonald.

This was one of the most tense moments of the cold war and resulted in President Ronald Reagan ordering the United States Military to make its GPS navigational systems available on the civilian markets.

[WebbPA]

Despicable.

Wikipedia

KAL 007 was probably attacked in international airspace, with a 1993 Russian report listing the location of the missile firing outside its territory ...

[olderndirt]

Rumor had it there was a covert flight, out of Shemya, that night.

[WebbPA]

President Reagan's response (YouTube partial video)

President Reagan's response (full text)

... Out over the Pacific, in international waters, it was for a brief time in the vicinity of one of our reconnaissance planes, an RC - 135, on a routine mission. At no time was the RC - 135 in Soviet airspace. The Korean airliner flew on, and the two planes were soon widely separated ...

Let me point out something here having to do with his closeup view of the airliner on what we know was a clear night with a half moon. The 747 has a unique and distinctive silhouette, unlike any other plane in the world. There is no way a pilot could mistake this for anything other than a civilian airliner ...

[olderndirt]

... Out over the Pacific, in international waters, it was for a brief time in the vicinity of one of our reconnaissance planes, an RC - 135, on a routine mission. At no time was the RC - 135 in Soviet airspace. The Korean airliner flew on, and the two planes were soon widely separated ...

Let me point out something here having to do with his closeup view of the airliner on what we know was a clear night with a half moon. The 747 has a unique and distinctive silhouette, unlike any other plane in the world. There is no way a pilot could mistake this for anything other than a civilian airliner ...

No question

[WebbPA]

That plus the fact that the Soviets followed it for 2 1/2 hours.

[RitterKreuz]

the pilot has stated that he knew it was a Boeing 747, because of its distinctive shape and two rows of windows.

"i didnt tell this to ground control... because they didnt ask."

was basically his response 

[olderndirt]

Sounds almost as if they felt obligated to shoot down something - any result being better than none?

[Ivan]

Sounds almost as if they felt obligated to shoot down something - any result being better than none?

Probably a case of 'Shoot or prison'. They 100% knew that they went after a civil airliner... as they launched the backup flight as soon as the first pilot showed some hesitation

[EJW]

I just don't get how they could confuse an aircraft which was obviously an airliner with a USAF RC-135. A Boeing 747 looks very little like an RC-135 and if that wasn't enough KOREAN AIR LINES was written in 15ft bold text.

[Hagar]

I just don't get how they could confuse an aircraft which was obviously an airliner with a USAF RC-135

Wouldn't be the first time a civil aircraft was used for spying purposes. Reconnaissance aircraft typically have lumps & bumps all over them & the RC-135 is not really that different from a 747. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:USAF_Combat_Sent.jpg 
They found an aircraft where a spy-plane was supposed to be & were ordered to shoot it down. This was a period of the Cold War where feelings were tense on both sides. Unfortunately this is what can happen in this type of situation. I think the US was as much to blame as the USSR for that. One good thing to come out of it was the GPS system for civil use.