Changes

Prior to the shootdown of KAL 007 in 1983, there had never been an instance of a Boeing 747 having crashed at sea. This made it difficult to assess what should or should not occur in such an incident. Subsequent to the shootdown, there were a number of incidences. The following is a comparison of Boeing 747 and other large bodied craft crashes at sea with the crash (alleged) of KAL 007.

Prior to the shootdown of KAL 007 in 1983, there had never been an instance of a Boeing 747 having crashed at sea. This made it difficult to assess what should or should not occur in such an incident. Subsequent to the shootdown, there were a number of incidences. The following is a comparison of Boeing 747 and other large bodied craft crashes at sea with the crash (alleged) of KAL 007.

===Diffused Debris===

==Diffused Debris==

Midair explosions or plane crashes at sea display a diffused or "egalitarian" pattern on the surface of the sea at the site site of the crash. In these instances, almost immediately after the crash or midair explosion. There is an indiscriminate mixture of flotsam and debris at the crash site. This admixture is made up of:

Midair explosions or plane crashes at sea display a diffused or "egalitarian" pattern on the surface of the sea at the site site of the crash. In these instances, almost immediately after the crash or midair explosion. There is an indiscriminate mixture of flotsam and debris at the crash site. This admixture is made up of:

This is quite different than ship collisions or aircraft crashes on land. The sinking of the “unsinkable” Titanic was decidedly un-egalitarian. 1,513 lives were lost when the Titanic went down; only 700 survived. All the children in First Class, except one, were saved, while 49 children in Steerage perished. The overall survival rates were as follows: 63% of first class passengers, 47% of second class passengers, and 25% of third class passengers. This was primarily due to the location of these passenger groups in the hull of the ship at the time it struck the iceberg, but “class structure” prejudices played their parts as well.  Many commentators believe that a crash on land of an aircraft is likewise "discriminatory", though to a lesser degree. Often enough, the tail section is shorn away with great structural damage, and consequently greater loss of life to the passengers seated to the rear of the fuselage than to those seated in the mid- or fore section of the aircraft. Other commentators deny this structural “bias” (the "structual bias" does hold for water landings of passenger planes and passengers have been saved by moving to the front which is less liable to break off than the tail section - (see Pan Am Flt. 6 of [[Water Ditching]])

This is quite different than ship collisions or aircraft crashes on land. The sinking of the “unsinkable” Titanic was decidedly un-egalitarian. 1,513 lives were lost when the Titanic went down; only 700 survived. All the children in First Class, except one, were saved, while 49 children in Steerage perished. The overall survival rates were as follows: 63% of first class passengers, 47% of second class passengers, and 25% of third class passengers. This was primarily due to the location of these passenger groups in the hull of the ship at the time it struck the iceberg, but “class structure” prejudices played their parts as well.  Many commentators believe that a crash on land of an aircraft is likewise "discriminatory", though to a lesser degree. Often enough, the tail section is shorn away with great structural damage, and consequently greater loss of life to the passengers seated to the rear of the fuselage than to those seated in the mid- or fore section of the aircraft. Other commentators deny this structural “bias” (the "structual bias" does hold for water landings of passenger planes and passengers have been saved by moving to the front which is less liable to break off than the tail section - (see Pan Am Flt. 6 of [[Water Ditching]])

===Comparison of Aerial/Sea Disaster Debri===

==Comparison of Aerial/Sea Disaster Debri==

*Case One. Air India Boeing 747 Flight 182 was blown up by a terrorist bomb while flying above the North Atlantic near the coast of Ireland on June 23, 1985. It was then at the altitude of 31,000 feet, about 4,000 feet less than that of KAL 007 when it was hit. Flight 182 plunged into the sea, killing all 329 passengers and crew. That same day, 123 bodies were recovered, and the next day eight more were recovered. Four months later, another body was recovered, strapped to its seat in a section of the fuselage lifted from the ocean bottom. The bodies were described by British Royal Navy doctor, Lt. Richard Cribb as “badly shattered and broken but all in one piece.”  Over 40 percent of the passengers of Flight 182 were recovered, and from a depth of about 6,700 feet beneath the ocean surface. Debris was dispersed across four miles of sea bottom, and for a month luggage and other debris could be seen floating on the Irish Sea. Search operations had lasted four months.  

*Case One. Air India Boeing 747 Flight 182 was blown up by a terrorist bomb while flying above the North Atlantic near the coast of Ireland on June 23, 1985. It was then at the altitude of 31,000 feet, about 4,000 feet less than that of KAL 007 when it was hit. Flight 182 plunged into the sea, killing all 329 passengers and crew. That same day, 123 bodies were recovered, and the next day eight more were recovered. Four months later, another body was recovered, strapped to its seat in a section of the fuselage lifted from the ocean bottom. The bodies were described by British Royal Navy doctor, Lt. Richard Cribb as “badly shattered and broken but all in one piece.”  Over 40 percent of the passengers of Flight 182 were recovered, and from a depth of about 6,700 feet beneath the ocean surface. Debris was dispersed across four miles of sea bottom, and for a month luggage and other debris could be seen floating on the Irish Sea. Search operations had lasted four months.