Korean Air Lines Flight 902
Occupants | 109 |
---|---|
Passengers | 97 |
Crew | 12 |
Fatalities | 2 |
Survivors | 107 |
Korean Air Lines Flight 902 (KAL 902) was a scheduled
Flight 902 had veered off course over the Arctic Ocean and entered Soviet airspace near the Kola Peninsula, whereupon it was intercepted and fired upon by a Soviet fighter jet. The incident killed two of the 109 passengers and crew members aboard and forced the plane to make an emergency landing on the frozen Korpijärvi Lake near the Finnish border.[4]
Events
Flight 902 departed from
Soviet air defence
According to Kim's account of the attack, the interceptor approached his aircraft from the right side rather than the left as required by International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) regulation.[8] Kim decreased his speed and turned on the navigation lights, indicating that he was ready to follow the Soviet fighter for landing.[8]
According to Soviet reports, the airliner repeatedly ignored commands to follow the interceptor.[9] Flight 902's co-pilot, S.D. Cha said that the crew had attempted to communicate with the interceptor via radio, but did not receive a response.[6]
Bosov tried to convince his superiors that the plane was not a military threat, but after receiving orders to shoot it down[10][8] at 21:42 he fired an R-60 missile.[citation needed] The missile flew past the target.[8] A second missile hit the left wing, knocking off approximately 4 metres (13 ft) of its length. The missile also punctured the fuselage, causing rapid decompression and jamming one of the plane's four turbines.[8] Korean passenger Bahng Tais Hwang died in the missile strike, which also wounded several others.[6]
After being hit, the airliner quickly descended from an altitude of 9,000 m (30,000 ft).[8] It fell into a cloud, disappearing from Soviet air defence radars. Soviets mistook the part of the wing that had fallen off Flight 902 for a cruise missile and dispatched another Su-15 interceptor to fire at it.[8] Bosov's Su-15 had to return to the airbase due to low fuel.
Emergency landing
Accounts of the time between the missile strike and Flight 902's landing differ. According to Soviet media, the airliner flew across the whole
Finnish sources stated that Soviet air defense did not have any information on the plane's whereabouts after it disappeared from the radar.[8] However, Tsarkov stated that another Soviet pilot, Anatoly Kerefov, had located Flight 902 and led it to the Afrikanda air base.[8] Tsarkov went on to say that Kim fell behind and landed on the lake.[8] Kerefov said he practically forced the plane to land on the ice of Korpijärvi.[8]
Rescue of survivors
Soviet helicopters rescued the survivors and transported them to the city of Kem in Karelia. The passengers were quartered in the garrison's Officers' Lodge.[8]
On 22 April, the survivors, except the pilot and navigator, were transported via
On 29 April, the pilot and navigator of Flight 902 were released.
The Soviet Union billed South Korea US$100,000 ($467,100 in 2023 prices) for its caretaking of the passengers; however, the bill was never paid by South Korea.[13]
Aftermath
The Soviet Union refused to cooperate with international experts while they investigated the incident and did not provide any data from the plane's "black box".[8] The airplane was dismantled and all equipment transferred by helicopter onto a barge in Kandalaksha Gulf.[8] The deputy chief commanding officer of Soviet air defense, Yevgeny Savitsky, personally inspected the aircraft's cockpit.[8]
The crew of Flight 902 blamed navigational error for the plane's course. Passengers said that Kim had told them upon landing that he had suspected the aircraft's navigation equipment was in error but had followed it anyway. After being released from Soviet custody, navigator Lee said similarly that the navigational gyrocompass had malfunctioned.[7]
In 1983, 5 years after the flight 902 incident, Korean Air Lines Flight 007, a Boeing 747-230B, was also shot down by the Soviet air defense. However, unlike flight 902, no survivor remained on flight 007.
Maps
See also
- Aviation safety
- List of accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft
- List of airliner shootdown incidents
- Korean Air Lines Flight 007
References
- ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 707-321B HL7429 Korpijärvi Lake". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
- ^ "The Worst, But Not The First." Time 122.11 (1983): 21. Academic Search Premier. Web. 9 November 2012.
- ^ "The Mystery Of Flight 902 Why Did A South Korean Jet Make a 180° Turn over the Arctic?." Time 111.18 (1978): 35. Academic Search Premier. Web. 9 November 2012.
- ^ "Рейс "KAL" # 902 по расписанию не прибыл". Retrieved 30 April 2017.
- ^ a b c d "Flight of South Korean Airliner 'Very Puzzling' to U.S. Officials". The New York Times. 22 April 1978. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
- ^ a b c d e "Agony of Flight 902". The Washington Post. 24 April 1978. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
- ^ a b c d e "Soviet Frees Last 2 in Korean Plane Case". The New York Times. 30 April 1978. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
- ^ Ukrayinska Pravda(in Ukrainian). 4 May 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
- ^ "2 Killed on South Korean Airliner That Was Forced to Land in Soviet". The New York Times. 22 April 1978. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
- ^ "Criminal Occurrence Description at the Aviation Safety Network".
- ^ Увидеть Париж — и не умереть – Константин Сорокин, Артур Берзин Archived 6 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine(in Russian)
- ^ "South Korean Plane Plunged 30,000 Feet After Being Fired On". The New York Times. 23 April 1978. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
- ^ "Past Attacks on Commercial Airliners". Time. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
- ^ "Flight Finder ✈ Charles de Gaulle/Roissy (CDG) – Incheon Int'l (ICN) ✈ FlightAware". FlightAware. Retrieved 5 September 2020.