Changes

[[Image:KAL007.JPG|thumb|300px]]

[[Image:KAL007.JPG|thumb|300px]]

==The Flight==

==The Flight==

KAL 007, a commercial [[Boeing]] 747-230B [[747|jumbo jet]] (registration number HL7442) departed [[John F. Kennedy International Airport]] in New York on August 31, 1983, stopped at Anchorage, Alaska for refueling at 3:00 AM local time, then departed on the final leg to Seoul-Kimpo International Airport in South Korea. On board, there were 269 occupants comprised of 3 flight crew, 20 cabin attendants, 6 dead-headers (repositioning KAL employees), and 240 passengers (including air marshals). Nationalities (in descending order) were 76 Koreans, 61 Americans, 28 Taiwanese, 23 Japanese, 16 Filipinos, and a lesser number for remaining nationalities. There were 22 children on board under the age of 12 years.<ref>For passenger (and crew) seating, photos, and stories for some, written by family and loved ones see [http://www.rescue007.org/passengers.htm Rescue 007: Passengers].</ref>

KAL 007, a commercial [[Boeing]] 747-230B (registration number HL7442) departed John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on August 31, 1983, stopped at Anchorage, Alaska for refueling at 3:00 AM local time, then departed on the final leg to Seoul-Kimpo International Airport in South Korea. On board, there were 269 occupants comprised of 3 flight crew, 20 cabin attendants, 6 dead-headers (repositioning KAL employees), and 240 passengers (including air marshals). Nationalities (in descending order) were 76 Koreans, 61 Americans, 28 Taiwanese, 23 Japanese, 16 Filipinos, and a lesser number for remaining nationalities. There were 22 children on board under the age of 12 years.<ref>For passenger (and crew) seating, photos, and stories for some, written by family and loved ones see [http://www.rescue007.org/passengers.htm Rescue 007: Passengers].</ref>

 

[[Image:Chun byung in.jpg|Capt. Chun byung-in, Pilot of KAL 007|left|thumb|200px]]

[[Image:Chun byung in.jpg|Capt. Chun byung-in, Pilot of KAL 007|left|thumb|200px]]

[[Image:KA Flight 007.PNG|right|thumb|200px|Planned (''dashed line'') and actual (''solid line'') route of Korean Airlines Flight 007, September 1, 1983]]

[[Image:KA Flight 007.PNG|right|thumb|200px|Planned (''dashed line'') and actual (''solid line'') route of Korean Airlines Flight 007, September 1, 1983 - need to put image up again ]]

KAL 007's flight plan was to take it southwest from Anchorage to [[Japan]], staying over sea with the Kamchatka Peninsula and Kuril Islands far to the west, then cross Japan's mainland to South Korea.  The aircraft's principal mode of navigation was to be the INS, or [[Inertial Navigation System]]. Based on [[radar]] information it was determined that KAL 007 had in fact strayed off course too far west, placing it directly over Soviet territory more than once.  It was about 10 minutes after take-off that the jumbo jet began its deviation to the west.  Twenty minutes after, civilian radar at Kenai, Alaska tracked KAL 007 5.6 nautical miles (NM) deviated. Fifty minutes after, military radar at King Salmon, Alaska tracked it at 12.6 NM deviated. One by one, KAL 007 plunged through its navigational checkpoints ever increasing its deviation&mdash;60 NM at waypoint NABIE, 100 NM at waypoint NUKKS, and 160 NM at waypoint NEEVA, until 3 hours after take-off, it entered Russian territory north of the port city of [[Petropavlovsk]] on Kamchatka.  Home to the Far East Fleet Inter-Continental Ballistic Nuclear Submarine Base, Petropavlovsk was bristling with weaponry. For a summary of the ICAO analysis as to why KAL 007 strayed off course, see [[How KAL 007 was Lost]].

KAL 007's flight plan was to take it southwest from Anchorage to [[Japan]], staying over sea with the Kamchatka Peninsula and Kuril Islands far to the west, then cross Japan's mainland to South Korea.  The aircraft's principal mode of navigation was to be the INS, or [[Inertial Navigation System]]. Based on [[radar]] information it was determined that KAL 007 had in fact strayed off course too far west, placing it directly over Soviet territory more than once.  It was about 10 minutes after take-off that the jumbo jet began its deviation to the west.  Twenty minutes after, civilian radar at Kenai, Alaska tracked KAL 007 5.6 nautical miles (NM) deviated. Fifty minutes after, military radar at King Salmon, Alaska tracked it at 12.6 NM deviated. One by one, KAL 007 plunged through its navigational checkpoints ever increasing its deviation&mdash;60 NM at waypoint NABIE, 100 NM at waypoint NUKKS, and 160 NM at waypoint NEEVA, until 3 hours after take-off, it entered Russian territory north of the port city of [[Petropavlovsk]] on Kamchatka.  Home to the Far East Fleet Inter-Continental Ballistic Nuclear Submarine Base, Petropavlovsk was bristling with weaponry. For a summary of the ICAO analysis as to why KAL 007 strayed off course, see [[How KAL 007 was Lost]].