The Korean Air Flight 007 incident in 1983

The background to the event
In 1983, Cold War tensions between the United States and Soviet Union had escalated to a level not seen since the Cuban Missile Crisis because of several factors. These included the United States' Strategic Defense Initiative, its planned deployment of Pershing II missiles in Europe in March and April, and FleetEx '83, the largest fleet exercise held to date in the North Pacific.[26] The military hierarchy of the Soviet Union (particularly the old guard led by Soviet General Secretary Yuri Andropov and Soviet Defense Minister Dmitry Ustinov) viewed these actions as bellicose and destabilizing; they were deeply suspicious of US President Ronald Reagan's intentions and openly fearful he was planning a first strike nuclear attack against the Soviet Union.

Exercise Able Archer 83

Aircraft from USS Midway and USS Enterprise repeatedly overflew Soviet military installations in the disputed Kurile Islands during FleetEx '83, resulting in the dismissal or reprimanding of Soviet military officials who had been unable to shoot them down. On the Soviet side, Operation RYAN Raketno-Yadernoe Napadenie (Russian: Ракетно-ядерное нападение, "Nuclear Missile Attack") was expanded. Lastly, there was a heightenedalert around the Kamchatka Peninsula at the time KAL 007 was in the vicinity, because of a Soviet missile test that was scheduled for the same day. A United States Air ForceRC-135 reconnaissance aircraft flying in the area was monitoring the missile test off the peninsula.

The Event
Korean Air Flight 007, a Sutoh Korean Boeing 747, was shot down near Moneron Island in the USSR, after it steadly veered into prohibted Soviet airspace, by a Su-15TM based on the top secret and closed Soviet Location of Sakhalin Island, also in the Soviet Far East. The attack killed all 246 passengers and 23 crew on board. The Soviet Union initially denied knowledge of the incident, but later admitted the shoot-down, claiming that the aircraft was on a covert spy mission.

The aftermath
The Soviet Politburo officaly claimed at the time it was a deliberate American provocation to test there battlenes or even to provoke a war as political paranoia took over in the minds of the national leadership. The Americans accused the Soviet Union of obstructing search and rescue operations and began to act increasingly agresivly and went very hawkish over it. Both Koreas were angry, confused and ready for war with each other as they spent about a month after the shoot-down on a war footing.

The Soviet military also suppressed evidence sought by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) investigation, such as the flight data recorders which were released 8 years later on the personal orders of the Russian President, Boris Yelstin, after the fall of the USSR.

Links

 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhoi_Su-15
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Air_Lines_Flight_007
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Air