Korean Air Lines Flight 007 - Details of The Flight

Details of The Flight

Korean Air Lines Flight 007 was a commercial Boeing 747-230B delivered on January 28, 1972, with the serial number CN20559/186 and registration HL7442 (formerly D-ABYH operated by Condor Flugdienst). The aircraft departed Gate 15 of John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City on August 30, 1983 bound for Seoul, 35 minutes behind its scheduled departure time of 23:50 EDT (03:50 UTC, August 31). The flight was carrying 246 passengers and 23 crew members. After refueling at Anchorage International Airport in Anchorage, Alaska, the aircraft, piloted on this leg of the journey by Captain Chun Byung-in, departed for Seoul at 13:00 UTC (4:00 am Alaska Time) on August 31, 1983.

The aircrew had an unusually high ratio of crew to passengers, as six deadheading crew were on board. Twelve passengers occupied the upper deck first class, while in business almost all of 24 seats were taken; in economy class, approximately 80 seats did not contain passengers. There were 22 children under the age of 12 years aboard. U.S. congressman Lawrence McDonald from Georgia, who at the time was also the second president of the conservative John Birch Society, was on the flight. One hundred thirty passengers planned to connect to other destinations such as Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Taipei. Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina, Senator Steven Symms of Idaho, and Representative Carroll J. Hubbard, Jr. of Kentucky were aboard sister flight KAL 015, which flew 15 minutes behind KAL 007; they were headed, along with Larry McDonald on KAL 007, to Seoul, Korea in order to attend the ceremonies for the 30 year anniversary of the U.S.-Korea Mutual Defense Treaty.