Nightstalkers in the Pacific Sky

By Susan Tifft

Eavesdropping on the Soviet pilots as they close in for the kill

It was just about 1 a.m. (Japan Standard Time) on Sept. 1 when Korean Air Lines (KAL) Flight 007, cruising southwestward from Anchorage over the Bering Sea in the early-morning darkness, came under the watchful eye of Soviet radar. For the next 2 1/2 hr. the blip moved into and out of Soviet airspace. When it crossed over the eastern border of the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Soviets scrambled four MiG-23s and Su-15s from the Petropavlovsk airbase on Kamchatka to search for the intruder. Just after 3 a.m., over the Soviet island of Sakhalin, where another six interceptors had given pursuit, the hunters found their quarry.

On the ground, at the Wakkanai radar installation on the Japanese island of Hokkaido, and probably elsewhere in the area, voice-activated tape recorders chronicled the unfolding drama. The transcript of the air-to-ground conversations, made public last week, is excerpted and explained below. The chronology is in Greenwich Mean Time (G.M.T.), using a 24-hour clock (1800 hours, for example, means 6 p.m. G.M.T. and 2 p.m. E.D.T.). Although the full transcript shows four planes in contact with ground controllers, only two closed in for the kill. The number 805 identifies the pilot of the Su-15 who shot down the wayward airliner; 163 denotes the pilot of the MiG-23 who accompanied him in the chase. Communication from the Soviet ground stations to the pilots is not available.

1805:56--805: I see it.

The pilot of the Su-15, traveling southwestward at an undetermined altitude, reports to ground control that he has spotted the airliner. "I'm flying behind," he says seconds later. For approximately the next three minutes he stalks the unsuspecting jet from the rear.

1806:07--163: Course 30, 8,000.

The MiG-23 signals that it has reached an altitude of 8,000 meters, or about 26,000 ft. Course 30 refers to a magnetic directional heading, used by air controllers throughout the world to steer planes from the ground. Magnetic north is 0DEG, magnetic east is 90DEG, magnetic south 180DEG and so on. Thus, on course magnetic 30, the south MiG-23 is flying in a northeast direction. Moments later, however, at ground instruction, the pilot swings around, heads east-southeast, and eventually falls in line behind the Su-15, where he will stay for the duration of the chase. The other two planes are also vectored, or steered, by ground control into positions behind the Su-15 and the KAL passenger plane.

1807:50--805: Fuel remainder three [metric] tons.

The Soviet interceptors are notorious fuel guzzlers. Even with extra drop tanks, their endurance is brief; the maximum flying time for both an Su-15 and a MiG-23 is just under an hour. As a result, the nervous pilots refer repeatedly to their remaining fuel levels throughout the 50 min. of elapsed time reflected in the transcript.

1808:31--805: Should I turn off the weapons system?

Although the answer to this question is not in the transcript, it is presumably no, since Pilot 805 uses his missiles with devastating effect a scant 18 min. later.

1809:00--805: Yes. It has turned. The target is 80DEG to my left.

The word it probably refers to the 747, now practically at a right angle to the Su-15. Although target had a tragic meaning in the skies over Sakhalin, it is airman slang for radar blip.

1812:10--805: I see it visually and on radar.

Pilot 805 confirms to the ground that the KAL jetliner is in full view. Seconds later, Pilot 163 jettisons his empty fuel tanks. "I have dropped my tanks," he says, signaling that he has only the fuel in his main tanks remaining, enough to keep him in the skies another 35 min.

1813:05--805: I see it. I'm locked onto the target.

Pilot 805 has set his radar to get an automatic fix on the target, bringing his missiles into alignment with the jetliner ahead. The moving half circles on his radar screen close to form a glowing full ring with an orange or a green dot in the middle. The Su-15 is now "locked on" for a straight shot at the KAL airliner.

1813:26--805: The pilot isn't responding to IFF

The Su-15 pilot sends out an IFF (Identification: Friend or Foe) radio signal to Flight 007 to see if it is a friendly Soviet plane. But the Su-15's IFF frequency can be picked up only by Soviet aircraft. The jumbo hums westward into the darkness, unaware that it is being interrogated.

1813:40--805: [The weapons system] is turned on.

Pilot 805 assures ground control that he is prepared to fire. A fighter's weapons system works much like a computer: it must be turned on in advance to warm up the circuitry. If it is cold, it is more likely to malfunction.

1814:34--805: Roger, I have [enough] speed. I don't need to turn on my afterburner.

The 747, while fast for a commercial airplane, is no match for the supersonic Su-15. The jumbo's typical cruising speed is 540 m.p.h.; the Soviet fighter is capable of speeds in excess of 1,400 m.p.h. Pilot 805 correctly assumes he will not need to use his afterburner (a device that sprays fuel into a jet's hot exhaust, giving it a sudden burst of speed) in order to catch up to the lumbering jetliner.

1818:34--805: The A.N.O. [air navigational lights] are burning. The [strobe] light is flashing.

The pilot sees the steady beacons of 007: a red light on the left wing tip, a green one on the right, and a white position light on the tail. The blinding strobes, typically used to enhance visibility on airways, blink brightly from either wing.

1819:02--805: I am closing on the target.

Pilot 805 nears his prey. Seconds later, probably in response to a query from the ground, he says: "I have enough time." Presumably, he meant he had enough time to carry out his attack before his fuel ran out, or before the airliner flew back into the safety of international airspace.

1819:44--163: I am flying behind the target at a distance of 25. Do you see [me]?

In what may have been a belated attempt to muscle in as the main stalker, the MiG-23 fighter confirms that he is also in the favored 6-o'clock position 25 km, or 15 1/2 miles, behind the target, ready to go in for the kill.

1820:08--805: Fiddlesticks! I'm going. That is, my Z.G. [indicator] is lit [missile warheads are already locked-on].

With a colorful exclamation (see box), Pilot 805 emphasizes that he is the one prepared to attack the target. His effusiveness could also simply reflect his natural excitement or fear at the sight of the indicator light, signaling him to fire.

1820:30--805: [I] need to approach it.

The pilot of the Su-15 decides (or is told by ground control) that he needs to get closer to the target. He accelerates and gets within a little more than a mile of the jumbo jet, which remains oblivious to the danger. Simultaneously, he turns off his weapons' lock-on system so that he can reposition it properly later, when he is ready to fire. Once again, he reports to the ground that 007's strobe light is blinking.

1821:55--805: What are instructions?

It is not known what ground control's commands were. But they must have been succinct. Within 4 sec., Pilot 805 says, "Roger," and zooms after the jetliner. He then reports that the jumbo is slowing down. Seven minutes earlier, Flight 007 had requested permission from Japanese controllers at Tokyo's Narita airport to climb from an altitude of 33,000 ft. to 35,000 ft., and a climb speed is slower than a cruise speed. However, seconds later, Pilot 805 reports that the airliner is at an altitude of 10,000 km (33,000 ft.), indicating that either the Su-15's instruments were in error or 007 had not yet started its ascent.

1822:17--805: I'm going around it. I'm already moving in front of the target.

As a result of 007's reduced speed, or his own miscalculation, Pilot 805 begins to overshoot the jetliner. Ground control apparently orders the Su-15 to remain behind it. The pilot is forced to drop back, grumbling at the lateness of the command. "It should have been earlier," he complains. "How can I chase it? I'm already abeam of the target . . . Now I have to fall back from the target." He confirms the airliner's position: 70DEG to his left.

1823:37--805: I'm dropping back. Now I will try a rocket.

The pilot of the Su-15 announces his intention to down the passenger plane with an air-to-air missile. Meanwhile, the MiG-23, some 7 miles from the target, reports to ground control that he has both the Soviet hunter and its Korean prey squarely in his field of vision.

1825:11--805: I am closing on the target, am in lock on. Distance to target is eight.

Pilot 805 activates the radar and weapons systems that automate the aim of his missiles. He has extended the distance between his plane and the jetliner from 2 to 8 km (4.9 miles) to avoid debris from the soon-to-be-smashed target.

1825:46--805: Z.G. [missile warheads locked on].

1826:20--805: I have executed the launch.

In a businesslike tone, Pilot 805 informs ground control that he has fired his missiles. The Su-15 fighters normally carry two: one heat seeking, the other radar homing. Two minutes later, the pilot assures the ground that he has "launched both." The heat-seeking missile would have headed for one of the 747's engines; the radar-homing one would have streaked toward the giant fuselage.

1826:22--805: The target is destroyed.

One or both of the missiles had hit. In the predawn skies over Sakhalin, KAL Flight 007 begins cartwheeling toward the sea. According to the tapes of Japanese air controllers in Tokyo, the Korean pilot, Captain Chun Byung In, was able only to call out his number, "Korean Air 007." Then there was silence.

1826:27--805: I am breaking off attack.

Both Pilot 805 and Pilot 163 linger briefly near the scene, worrying about their fuel and looking for visual confirmation of the kill. Ground control asks two of the fighters in the vicinity if they can spot the 747. None can, although the sky was apparently clear and the cloud cover was well below the kill site. Fourteen minutes after the explosion, Pilot 163 notes, "The clouds are below me." The fighters head for home. Flight 007 has plummeted below the clouds and into the Sea of Japan.

--By Susan Tifft.

Reported by Jerry Hannifin and Christopher Redman/Washington

With reporting by Jerry Hannifin, Christopher Redman This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.