Changes

At 18:26 GMT two air-to-air missiles from an [[Sukhoi Su-15|Su-15 Flagon]] piloted by Major Gennadi Osipovich were fired at the jumbo jet<ref>See [http://www.rescue007.org/shootdown.htm Rescue 007:The Shootdown] for the combined U.S. electronic intercept and Soviet military communications of the actual shoot-down with photos of key personnel.</ref>, causing it to spiral down from 35,000 feet and after a 12 minute descent crash into the sea near Moneron Island.

At 18:26 GMT two air-to-air missiles from an [[Sukhoi Su-15|Su-15 Flagon]] piloted by Major Gennadi Osipovich were fired at the jumbo jet<ref>See [http://www.rescue007.org/shootdown.htm Rescue 007:The Shootdown] for the combined U.S. electronic intercept and Soviet military communications of the actual shoot-down with photos of key personnel.</ref>, causing it to spiral down from 35,000 feet and after a 12 minute descent crash into the sea near Moneron Island.

==The Osipovich–Air Controller KAL 007 Identity miscommunication==

===The Osipovich–Air Controller KAL 007 Identity miscommunication===

In his September 9, 1996 interview Osipovich stated that he knew that it was a civilian Boeing from the double rows of windows. He told ground controllers that there were blinking lights, which he believed should have alerted them to the fact that the plane was a transport. But he did not tell them that the aircraft was specifically a Boeing 747. Also clear, is that KAL 007's blinking navigational lights were also not communicated upward:

In his September 9, 1996 interview Osipovich stated that he knew that it was a civilian Boeing from the double rows of windows. He told ground controllers that there were blinking lights, which he believed should have alerted them to the fact that the plane was a transport. But he did not tell them that the aircraft was specifically a Boeing 747. Also clear, is that KAL 007's blinking navigational lights were also not communicated upward: