The tragedy of Malaysia Airlines MH17 that got gun downed in Ukraine isn't the first commercial airliner that was attacked by military action. The first time this happened was in 1983 - and to Korean Air Lines Flight 007. The jumbo jet carried 269 people and was gunned down by a Sukhoi Su-15 fighter jet after it strayed into Soviet airspace.

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The aspects of the incident remain mysterious, but what's clear was its final destination was Seoul.

After refueling in Alaska, it may have accidentally crossed into Soviet Airspace due to an incorrect setting on the plane's autopilot. 

Newsweek described this back in 1983:

As far as the United States was concerned, it was a case of wanton slaughter in the skies. The electronic evidence was convincing: the Soviets had tracked Flight 007 a full 2 ½ hours before the Su-15 fired, a lag that would have permitted the decision to be reviewed at the highest levels in Moscow. The fighter pilot trailed his target for 14 minutes before the attack—and radioed full recognition that his missiles were locked on a civilian commercial aircraft. The fatal shot itself appeared to be no accident: according to reported transcripts published in Japan, every move was carefully orchestrated by ground controllers.


“The pilot was ordered to take aim at the target. He replied that the had taken aim (sic). The controller ordered him to fire. Pilot: “The target is destroyed. I am breaking off attack.”

Years after the incident, the Soviet pilot who pulled the trigger that day said he noticed the double-decker configuration of the plane, and told CNN he had “wondered if it was a civilian aircraft.” But regardless, he “fulfilled his mission” to “destroy the intruder.”

MH17's story continues to develop. Ukrainian rescue workers said they had recovered the bodies of 121 victims of the crash.