Seaboard World Airlines Flight 253A Seaboard World Airlines Flight 253A was a military charter flight carrying 214 American troops bound for South Vietnam . On July 1 , 1968 , the plane was intercepted by Soviet jets after it unintentionally violated Soviet airspace . It was forced to land on one of the Soviet - controlled Kuril Islands with all 238 Americans aboard being detained for two days . Background . On the afternoon of July 1 , 1968 , a Seaboard World Airlines Douglas DC - 8 Super 63CF departed McChord Air Force Base , near Seattle , Washington bound for Yokota Air Base in Japan . The plane was piloted by Joseph D . Tosolini , with copilot Henry Treger , flight engineer Earl Scott , and navigator Lawrence Guernon . Because the plane was on its maiden flight , the crew also included a check pilot and a check engineer . It was carrying 214 American troops and 24 crew members who were en route to South Vietnam via Japan . The aircraft strayed westward of its planned track as it came into range of Japan , passing along the Soviet - controlled Kuril Islands . Japanese radar controllers notified the crew of the error when it was about off course . Accounts differ as to whether the message was unintelligible to Flight 253A due to static or whether the message was received but the crew did not have time to react . Two Soviet MIG fighter aircraft , piloted by Yu . B . Alexandrov , V . A . Igonin , I . F . Evtoshenko and I . K . Moroz , intercepted the DC - 8 at 2320 UTC ( 8 : 20 am ) , and directed it to follow by firing warning shots . The DC - 8 was led to Burevestnik airfield on Soviet - controlled Iturup Island , landing at 2343 UTC ( 8 : 39 am ) , on the 2400 m ( 7900 ft ) concrete runway . No damage to the plane was reported by the captain as he shut down the engines at 8 : 42 am . Burevestnik was a Soviet interceptor airfield served only by a military post and a small village . Initially all the Americans were confined to the aircraft and allowed outside to a radius of about 100 meters of the plane . Food in the galley ran out the next day , and the Soviets delivered military rations of brown bread , canned cheese , butter , weak coffee , beef bouillon , noodles , and cigarettes . The female cabin flight crew were allowed to sleep in a maintenance building on the second night . Negotiations . Diplomatic negotiations between the United States and Moscow began almost immediately with U . S . Ambassador Llewellyn Thompson already in Moscow for nuclear arms reduction talks . The Nuclear Non - Proliferation Treaty , which had been negotiated just weeks earlier , had been signed by U . S . President Lyndon Johnson on that day . Ambassador Thompson informed Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin that the airspace violation was unintentional , but Kosygin explained that his hands were tied and that the incident was under investigation . The following day Thompson was given a short protest note by the Soviets . A partially declassified CIA document indicated that Deputy Minister Kuznetsov added the personal comment that the USSR " did not wish to do anything to worsen our relations " but expressed it was most important to have a quick reply . The U . S . issued a short note of apology , and Tosolini also apologized , allowing the plane to leave . Upon landing at Misawa Air Base in northern Japan about an hour later , Tosolini retracted his apology , insisting the plane had not strayed into Soviet territory . Aftermath . The incident was a diplomatic embarrassment for all parties , playing into the hands of the Soviet Union by distracting the U . S . from arms talks . The Sino - Soviet split reached a peak at this time and with China viewing the USSR ' s release of the plane as aiding Americans in the fight against North Vietnam , one of China ' s allies . In December 1968 Seaboard was forced to pay a $ 5 , 000 civil penalty to the Federal Aviation Administration , as its onboard Doppler radar was not properly certified .