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Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!harpo!eagle!mhuxt!mhuxi!mhuxa!houxm!ihnp4!ihlts!rjnoe
From: rjnoe@ihlts.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.general
Subject: Korean Air Lines 747 shot down by Soviets
Message-ID: <187@ihlts.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 1-Sep-83 11:53:46 EDT
Article-I.D.: ihlts.187
Posted: Thu Sep  1 11:53:46 1983
Date-Received: Fri, 2-Sep-83 20:21:25 EDT
Organization: BTL Naperville, Il.
Lines: 23

U.S. Secretary of State George Schultz confirmed within the last
hour (before this posting) that Soviet fighter aircraft (probably
MiG-23's) had fired a missile and shot down Korean Air Lines
flight 007, a Boeing 747 commercial aircraft with 269 passengers
and crew on board.  Included among the passengers was a U.S.
congressman.  The flight originated in New York and was on the
last leg of its journey, from Anchorage, Alaska to Seoul, South
Korea.  Intercepted radio transmissions from the Soviet fighters
indicated that they had tracked the craft for 2.5 hours before the
incident, from about 1600 to 1830 GMT, or about 0200 to 0430 local
time (yesterday).  The fighter pilots were in constant contact with
their ground controllers throughout.  Further, the pilots reported
being in visual contact with the commercial aircraft before firing
on it.  Soviets began search and rescue procedures after the 747 was
downed, apparently with no success yet.  As of this moment, any
survivors will have been in the water for about 21 hours.  Local time
at the last known position of the aircraft is just after midnight and
search procedures will probably not be fruitful until dawn.  The
Secretary expressed outrage, horror, and revulsion that the Soviets
would have fired upon an unarmed commercial aircraft.  The Soviet
government has not yet offered any explanation.

	Roger Noe			...ihnp4!ihlts!rjnoe