# KAL Flight 007 - What really happened? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 14, 2004, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kal-flight-007-what-really-happened/269188 "2004-10-14T14:28:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kel_Varnsen_Latex_Division)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kal-flight-007-what-really-happened/269188/1 "2004-10-14T14:28:11Z")
What is the straight dope on KAL flight 007? Did the Soviets shoot the plane because of a mistake? Did the plane land? Is there any creditable evidence that there are survivors? [http://www.insightmag.com/main.cfm?include=detail&storyid=213472](http://www.insightmag.com/main.cfm?include=detail&storyid=213472) [http://www.rescue007.org/faq.htm](http://www.rescue007.org/faq.htm) ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kal-flight-007-what-really-happened/269188/2 "2004-10-14T16:36:41Z")
A classmate of mine died on that flight. If you are asking a GQ about a conspiracy theory that has no legs, have at it. ---
**Author:** ![Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kel_Varnsen_Latex_Division)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kal-flight-007-what-really-happened/269188/3 "2004-10-14T17:23:48Z")
My biggest question is why was is shot by the Soviets? Did they mistake it for a spy plane? Why shoot down a plane leaving your air space? Should they have now it was a passenger plane? And in addition did it crash or land? Were there surviors? ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kal-flight-007-what-really-happened/269188/4 "2004-10-14T17:45:47Z")
That first link that you posted has a pretty good synopsis - the Soviets were conducting super-secret testing that night, an American spy plane had been in the area earlier, and KAL007 drifted off its intended course, into Soviet airspace. They shot it down, probably thinking it was the spy plane (they were both large jets with four engines on the wings, and it was at night), and it crashed into the sea. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kal-flight-007-what-really-happened/269188/5 "2004-10-14T17:48:38Z")
It was the height of the cold war. There was a big, non-soviet airplane in soviet airspace. [A mistake was made](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Air_Flight_655). It happens. Since chunks of wreckage were fished out of the sea, that’s where it crashed. ---
**Author:** ![Redsland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9de0a6/32.png) [@Redsland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redsland)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kal-flight-007-what-really-happened/269188/6 "2004-10-14T17:49:27Z")
It was hit by at least one air-to-air missile and spiraled into the sea, killing all 269 aboard. The wreckage was later found, and the black boxes recovered. [http://aviation-safety.net/specials/kal007/](http://aviation-safety.net/specials/kal007/) ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kal-flight-007-what-really-happened/269188/7 "2004-10-14T18:01:13Z")
> [@Kel Varnsen - Latex Division](#): > > My biggest question is why was is shot by the Soviets? Did they mistake it for a spy plane? Why shoot down a plane leaving your air space? Should they have now it was a passenger plane? It’s not the only case of military paranoia and confusion leading to a civilian plane being shot down: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran\_Air\_flight\_655](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Air_flight_655) ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kal-flight-007-what-really-happened/269188/8 "2004-10-14T18:03:27Z")
Oops, just realised that **Tapioca Dextrin** had given the same linkl :smack: