Korean Air Lines Flight 007

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* Sakhalin on world map

**Korean Air Lines Flight 007**, also **KAL 007** or **KAL 7**, was a Korean Air LinesW flight from New York City to Seoul via Anchorage, Alaska. Due to navigational mistakes made by the pilots, the Boeing 747W airliner drifted from its original planned route and flew through Soviet prohibited airspace. Over SakhalinW, the flight was shot down by the Soviet Air ForceW. All 269 passengers and crew aboard were killed, including NASA Administrator Thomas Paine and US Congressman Lawrence McDonaldW.

## History

Initially, Ellen Wilson was scheduled to fly together with Thomas to Seoul, where they were supposed to negotiate an East Asian space alliance (EASA). However, while they were drinking in a bar in New York a few hours before the flight, Ellen received a phone call telling her that her father William just had a heart attack. Thomas told her to take the limo and go look after him. He would fly alone and she could still follow a few days later if possible.

KAL 007 started from Kennedy International AirportW in New York, and after a refuel in Anchorage, Alaska, the aircraft departed for Seoul. Soon after take-off, the airliner began to deviate to the north of its assigned route, and continued to do so for hours, unnoticed by the pilots. After 3 hours, they flew over the restricted airspace of the Kamchatka PeninsulaW and were heading towards Sakhalin Island. In Sakhalin, the Soviets had a secret military facility, where they were constructing and testing their Buran space shuttle. As the Korean plane approached the island, they had deviated almost 500 km from their planned flight path.

Inside the plane, Thomas Paine was talking to Margo Madison in Houston. He told her, that he can't sleep during flights and that these long flight would be the only time he could really focus. While they were chatting about Apollo-Soyuz and the upcoming negotiations for the EASA, a Soviet fighter approached the Boeing from behind and fired a missile.

After Thomas Paine's death, Ellen Wilson took over his duties as acting administrator. Later, she was nominated by President Reagan as the new permanent administrator of NASA.

The KAL 007 incident marked a new height in the Cold War between the two superpowers. As a result, President Reagan decided to arm *Pathfinder*, as well as to move forward the retaking of the lunar mining site 357 Bravo.

## Gallery

Soviet fighter following KAL 007Thomas Paine talking to MargoThe missile is firedPresident Ronald Reagan after the KAL 007 incidentKAL 007 incident in the newsPresident Reagan on TVSecretary of State George Shultz on TVGeorgia Sen. Jimmy Carter on TVTom Brokaw on NBC Nightly NewsLA Times' headlineUS Ambassador Jeanne KirkpatrickUSSR Ambassador Oleg TroyanovskyGeorge Shultz
## Behind the scenes

The Korean Air Lines Flight 007 incident also happened in reality. On September 1, 1983, the airliner was shot down at Sakhalin by a Sukhoi Su-15W interceptor. As in the series, US representative Larry McDonald was among the 269 casualties. The incident was one of the tensest moments of the Cold WarW and resulted in an escalation of anti-Soviet sentiments.

The incident appears to happen on the same date in the show as it did in reality, although the date is not explicitly told. Lots of real life archive footage is used in the political aftermath of the shot down, like reactions from several US politicians, the UN security councilW meeting, or news reports on TV and from the *Los Angeles Times*.

In reality, the Soviet BuranW shuttle was not constructed at or launched from Sakhalin.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 2, Episode 7: "Don't Be Cruel"
2. ↑ *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 2, Episode 8: "And Here's to You"
3. ↑   Korean Air Lines Flight 007 on Wikipedia