How many civilian airliners have been shot down?
ASN has a database of 23,400 accidents and hijackings involving airliners, corporate jets and military transport aircraft going back to 1919. It includes 729 flights that have been shot down from the ground and from the air since 1936. We wanted to find out how many of those were civilian flights.
Did the Soviets shoot down an airliner?
Soviet jet fighters intercept a Korean Airlines passenger flight in Russian airspace and shoot the plane down, killing 269 passengers and crew-members. The incident dramatically increased tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States. The Soviets sent two fighters to intercept the plane.
Can commercial planes be shot down?
Airliner shootdown incidents have occurred since at least the 1930s, either intentionally or by accident. This chronological list shows instances of airliners being brought down by gunfire or missile attacks—including during wartime—rather than by terrorist bombings or sabotage of an airplane.
Has a fighter jet ever shot down a passenger plane?
Iran Air Flight 655 was a scheduled passenger flight from Tehran to Dubai via Bandar Abbas that was shot down on 3 July 1988 by an SM-2MR surface-to-air missile fired from USS Vincennes, a guided-missile cruiser of the United States Navy.
Did the US ever shoot down a commercial airliner?
On 3 July 1988, a sophisticated US Navy warship, the USS Vincennes, shot down an Iranian civilian airliner flying over the Persian Gulf. Rudy Pahoyo was a Navy Combat Cameraman who was filming on board the USS Vincennes that day.
Who shot down Korean 007?
Soviet
Korean Air Lines flight 007, flight of a passenger jet that was shot down by Soviet air-to-air missiles on September 1, 1983, near Sakhalin Island, Russia, killing all 269 persons on board.
Why was the U-2 spy plane shot down?
The CIA assured President Eisenhower that the Soviets did not possess anti-aircraft weapons sophisticated enough to shoot down the high-altitude planes. On May 1, 1960, a U-2 flight piloted by Francis Gary Powers disappeared while on a flight over Russia.
Can you shoot a plane down with a pistol?
Baggett later gained fame as the only person ever to shoot down an aircraft using a pistol, though this is contradicted by Japanese wartime records, which indicate that no Japanese planes were lost during this action.
When did the Russians shoot down an airliner?
Korean Air Lines flight 007, flight of a passenger jet that was shot down by Soviet air-to-air missiles on September 1, 1983, near Sakhalin Island, Russia, killing all 269 persons on board.
How high was Gary Powers when shot down?
CIA documents released in 2010 indicate that U.S. officials did not believe Powers’s account of the incident at the time, because it was contradicted by a classified National Security Agency (NSA) report which alleged that the U-2 had descended from 65,000 to 34,000 feet (20 to 10 km) before changing course and …
What plane was shot down by Russia?
This KAL 747 airliner, Korean Airlines Flight 007, was shot down Sept. 1, 1983 by a Soviet fighter plane, killing all 269 persons on board.
Who shot down United 93?
Interesting story, but many reports have Major Rick Gibney as the guy who shot down Flight 93 , and according to this, he just got a promotion: Col. Rick Gibney assumes command of the 119th Wing.
When did southwest plane crash happen?
The accident involving Flight 1248 was the first Southwest Airlines accident in the 35-year history of the company to result in a fatality. The previous major incident was in 2000 when Southwest Airlines Flight 1455 overran a runway in Burbank, California, injuring 43 and narrowly avoiding a catastrophe;