Original subtitles

Nan Moore.

Well, I'm sorry, but I don't believe you hold the proper ranking for what you're

suggesting.

David, this is not a private line.

Watch what you're saying.

I'm trying to get out of here.

I'll see you later.

Good. Bye.

I'm so sorry, dear.

No overtime?

Oh, they'd have to pass a special bill to keep me here today.

Two more minutes, and I remember taxpayers' dollars.

Oh, good God, is it Friday? Have I missed something? Could it be a date? Is

there something you'd like to tell us? Well, actually, ladies and gentlemen, I

do have a few choice words for you.

No, no, no. Oh, and tell John that you have a great year.

Oh, I will. Thanks. Bye.

start cleaning up.

I've got to finish this.

You're so compulsive.

Well, I'm going to be gone for a whole year and I'm not going to leave this

half painted.

That's my shirt, Elizabeth.

Looks great, doesn't it?

Yeah, I ironed it.

John, feel free to borrow anything of mine you want. That's what sisters are

for.

John. John, don't you dare. Don't come near me with that. John, it's our shirt.

That's my point exactly.

You're dripping.

Oh, look what you did.

Me? Yeah, I was doing just fine until I saw you running off with my clothes.

Oh, well, I'm not so sure about that.

I mean, look.

You missed a spot right here.

John, this entire wall needs another coat.

Fine mess you left us in, Ollie. Off to China, leaving us with only half a wall

painted. No!

John, I'm really sorry.

John, I am really sorry.

John, I am really sorry!

sweating midterms and finals, and you're going to be living the life of Riley in

Beijing.

I don't think that there is a life of Riley in Beijing.

Well, it must be great to have all your studying over with.

Well, I'll be back in a year, and you can tell me how you sailed through

college. Elizabeth,

hey, you have the brains and you have the ability.

Not now, John.

Hey, how many times do I have to tell you you don't have to fact yourself up

against anybody else?

Right. I have a sister with a degree in economics. A brother with a law degree

from an Ivy League school, thank you very much.

I see a problem.

Hey.

It is exciting. You're moving on to a new point in your life.

I guess.

It is.

Mom's going to be lonely, you know.

You're the last one to leave.

I think she's looking forward to being alone.

She gets to spend some time with David.

Well, I don't care what kind of friends she puts up.

She raised four kids in this house, and now she's going to be by herself.

Just, you take care of her, Elizabeth.

I will.

All right, come on, let's go. They're probably waiting for us.

She is flying high above the dinner table.

I think I had the

shish kebab.

Thank you. I wouldn't.

Why not, Mother?

Because I've had the pasta, and I think that you'll enjoy it more.

You think this is hard now, but you're going to miss me telling you what to do.

I'm sure it'll take some getting used to.

I'm just kidding.

Oh, yeah, right there.

Now listen, competition is key, right?

Grade point average is important.

Extracurricular activities are a must. I cannot emphasize this enough.

Why don't you get the kid a night off?

There are no nights off in the quest for excellence.

Remember, Andover, Columbia,

Princeton.

Law school.

You must be feeling pretty cocky about the law boards if you're still pushing

law school.

Oh, boy, ask me in a few months when I get those results.

Well, maybe he should be just a little bit cocky.

Well, that's it, Mother.

Encourage him.

I'm not ashamed to be proud, and neither should you, John. I mean, you graduated

from the finest schools, and you've done it with honor.

Thank you.

Well, I don't want to put a damper on the evening, but it's going to be a very

sparse life in China.

Oh, Mom, he's only going away for a year.

It's not forever.

I'm sorry.

It's just a long time since I had a cry.

My brother Ben died of cancer.

Well,

those were different tears.

No, Ben would never have wanted his mother to cry.

Not at a moment like this. No.

Now, he probably would have put a puppet on his lap and said something like,

Mom!

Elizabeth and I have to drive all the way up to Connecticut tomorrow.

That's a good idea.

Oh, you'll be fine.

It's the nature of mothers and daughters to disagree about everything.

It'll pass.

It's the same with Mary. Do you want me to make you a sandwich to take on your

trip? Mother, it's a 45 -minute shuttle to New York. And then forever on to

China.

Stop kicking yourself because you're taking Elizabeth. It's her first year.

Besides, I don't need you to take me to the airport.

Watch that.

I think you should marry David.

And I think you should stay in Washington.

Wow, so much for that discussion.

I like him very much.

Next topic.

I just want to make sure that you're taken care of.

I have a job. I don't need to be taken care of.

Pretty 1980s, huh?

It's time that somebody started picking up the slack for you.

Take up the slack for me?

John, I wish there was more that I could give. I wish it hadn't been so hard for

all of you.

Mother, you taught us not to let those things get in our way.

Yes.

I just want you to have time. Time to make choices.

Fall in love.

Get married.

You just want to get your hands on the grandchildren.

I have no shame.

I can't wait.

I'm going to miss you.

What are you doing here?

I just thought you might need some company.

Elizabeth and I argued all the way to Wesleyan.

And we both cried when we had to say goodbye.

You'd think you'd have built up some calluses by now.

Talk to me a bit.

She's my baby.

We just have to remember to draw the drapes, and we've got the whole house.

You're a maniac.

You did a terrific job with each of your kids.

You've got a whole new era ahead of you now.

You know, I've never lived in this house without the children. It's going to be

very, very quiet.

Not if I have anything to say about it.

I'm glad you're here.

I would like to change my reservation to Beijing from the 30th to the 31st.

Is there a seat available?

Okay, my name is John Moore.

Yes, I would like to cancel and rebook for August 31st.

Okay. Mm -hmm.

Flight 007 leaving

JFK.

at 11 .50 p .m.

Okay. Thank you very much.

Okay. Thank you very much for your help, John. When you are in Beijing, I hope

our people will extend themselves as you did.

Now, are we clear on Moxie?

We want our deposit refunded. Very good.

John? Where are you calling from?

Where are you?

I'm at Kennedy.

I had to postpone a day. Some Chinese students had difficulty getting an

apartment, so I had to interpret.

Well, don't they speak English?

Not landlord English.

Did Elizabeth settle in okay?

Oh, yes, yes. She's going to be just fine.

And it's such a beautiful campus.

That's great.

Mother?

You never told me that you liked the job that I did on half the garage.

Oh, it was wonderful.

You want to do the rest of the house?

I'll miss you.

I love you, pal.

Flight 007 for Seoul, Korea.

Okay, I got to go.

John, do you have a warm coat?

Don't worry about me.

I'm going to send you the brown pocket. It's not very pretty, but it's warm.

They're going to leave if I don't go now, Mom.

Take care of yourself, John.

Okay, bye, Mom.

Bye.

Rows 1 through 15, please board now.

Please have your boarding passes ready.

was escorted by Russian fighter pilots and has been detained at a military base

on Sakhalin Island.

Sure.

Have you heard from John yet?

No. It'll take him a couple of days to get settled in.

Pretty hair -raising news this morning, huh?

I bet there's big powwows going over on the hill right now.

What are you talking about?

Haven't you read your paper this morning?

No, I was late getting started.

A Korean Airlines flight was forced down over Russia.

When? Last night. They just announced it this morning. Thank your lucky stars.

John left a couple of days ago.

Not a commercial flight?

Yeah. Flight 007. Do you believe that name?

Creepy, huh?

They say it strayed. The Russians forced it down over Sakhalin Island.

Nan?

John stayed back a day.

Oh, God.

Nan, he'll be all right.

Excuse me, partner.

I've got to call Elizabeth.

Oh, Nan.

I'll find the paper Elizabeth wrote her number in.

Ma 'am, sit down. I'll try and track down Elizabeth for you. Oh, God, let him

saved. Ma 'am, is there anything we can do?

John was on the plane.

I'll take it.

Yes. May I speak with Elizabeth Moore, please?

When do you expect her back?

Would you please have her call her mother right away?

Thank you.

Oh, I need to call the children.

They didn't know that John was on that flight. They might release the names on

the news.

Nan, we'll be right out here if you need us.

Nan.

Nan, it was a commercial airliner.

The Russians will just detain it.

A week from now, it'll be nothing more than an embarrassing incident, and John

will have a terrific story to tell.

At 1400 hours Greenwich Mean Time yesterday, a Korean...

747 en route from New York to Seoul, Korea, departed Anchorage, Alaska.

The aircraft strayed into Soviet airspace over the Kamchatka Peninsula.

The Soviets tracked the commercial airliner for some two and one -half

At 1821 hours, the Korean aircraft was recorded by the Soviet pilot at 10 ,000

meters.

At 1826 hours, the Soviet pilot reported.

that he fired a missile and the target was destroyed.

What? What's he saying? We urgently demanded an explanation from the Soviet

Union.

The United States reacts with revulsion to this attack.

Loss of life appears to be heavy.

We can see no excuse whatsoever for this appalling act.

It was unsettling.

That's what they told us.

How can he be saying this? I'm sorry.

I want to pick up Elizabeth at the airport.

Come on, Nan. She said she'd take a cab. She'll be fine.

I know this is a difficult time for you right now, but people need to know what

you're thinking and feeling about this incident. How do you feel toward the

Soviets?

I'm sorry, Mrs. Moore is in no shape to answer any questions right now. Please,

Mrs. Moore. The world mourns with you, Mrs. Moore.

The search flotilla of over 60

ships and aircrafts remains on station in the Sea of Okhots, north of Japan.

But the belief here is that the Soviet Union may have already sighted either

main portion of the...

Explain how and why the 747 was shot down.

Along the northern Hokkaido coastline, authorities continued to look for debris

washed ashore.

The first piece of identification of an American aboard the airliner was...

John! It must have happened so fast.

Meanwhile,

the two -week suspension of Tokyo -Moscow air services... No, he can't

the phone right now. Oh, why don't those reporters leave us alone?

How can I describe how I feel?

There are

angry demonstrations here in Washington denouncing the Soviet Union. Do you

think we should retaliate against the Russians?

The only thing I know that John would be strongly against is this notion of

retaliation.

Retaliation is just ridiculous.

And to think in those terms would be to negate his life.

Miss Moore, I...

Mama? I'm going to go to Korea.

Will you change your mind and come with me?

Oh, it's halfway across the world. I don't have the strength.

It doesn't feel real, does it?

When Ben had cancer, at least we all had the chance to accept what was

happening.

To say goodbye.

This photo of John was taken.

he was born.

He was seven years old.

He used to get out of school before Ben.

That was when we put him in the special school.

I used to fix his snack for him and I'd pick him up and we'd go down to the

park.

That way we were pals.

He used to call him pal.

He felt different from the other kids because of his reading problem.

And because we had to change schools for him. But I didn't want him to feel

different. I wanted him to feel special.

He was special.

He worked so hard.

Don't they watch, Mama?

Don't they have radar?

Don't they watch Russia?

They must.

Because... I'm military.

I don't know intelligence.

It's a border. We must watch Russia all the time, don't we?

Well, one would think.

I mean...

Aren't the people just glued to the radar?

Watching if Russia launches World War III?

If they're looking for missiles all the time, don't you think that they would

spot an airplane off course?

Well, our government isn't going to let the Russians get away with this.

We're going to find out what happens.

I bet we never do.

You work for the government. You never talk to us about work.

Do you really think that we're ever going to find out whatever happened up

there? Honey, what do you want me to do?

I've lost my son.

You're my brother.

I've lost my brother.

Does any of this make sense to you?

Any of it?

Service was held in Seoul's main football stadium.

It was packed to capacity.

Buddhist, Catholic, and Protestant rites were held.

The victims of the Jumbo Jet disaster were of 16 different nationalities.

Korean Airlines had arranged for nearly 100 family members of foreign passengers

killed to be there.

She had to touch their names, Mama.

She couldn't accept their death until she had touched their names.

Mama?

I'm still here, honey. I was so worried for you.

No, I'm all right.

I'm going to go to Hokkaido tomorrow.

We've heard that some bodies have washed up on the shore there. I'm sorry, Mama.

I don't know what other words to use.

You be strong for me, Elizabeth.

I will, Mama.

Are you going to be at the memorial service?

in Washington.

The president is greeting the relics downstairs, Mother.

What, John?

We didn't find anything.

Nothing.

Not a trace.

There was some debris that washed up on the shores of Hokkaido.

Parts of bodies were found.

Why couldn't they have all been safe like we were told?

Safe on Sakhalin was a lie, Mother.

We don't know that.

We learned in Hokkaido that the U .S. had ships out looking for wreckage.

Elizabeth! They were looking for wreckage hours before they told us that

plane was forced down and safe on Sakhalin.

We don't know that.

Stop it.

I don't have a body to bury.

This is the second time I have been out of service for a son.

When I lost Ben, I...

It was an act of God.

There was nothing and no one to blame for that. But John was murdered.

And I had nothing to bury.

How can I put...

Those were the voices of the Soviet pilots.

In this tape, the pilot who fired the missile describes his search for what he

calls the target.

He reports he has it in sight.

Indeed, he pulls up to within about a mile of the Korean plane.

He then reports he's reducing speed to get behind the airliner, gives his

distance from the plane at various points in this maneuver, and finally

announces what can only be called the Korean airline massacre.

He says, He has locked on the radar, which aims his missiles, has launched

missiles. The target has been destroyed, and he is breaking off the attack.

The 747 has a unique and distinctive silhouette, unlike any other plane in

world. There is no way a pilot could mistake this for anything other than a

civilian airliner.

Our immediate challenge to this atrocity is to ensure that we make the skies

safer and that we seek just compensation.

for the families of those who were killed.

And make no mistake about it, this attack was not just against ourselves or

Republic of Korea.

This was the Soviet Union against the world and the moral precepts which guide

human relations among people everywhere.

It was an act of barbarism.

No,

turn it over.

Why did you try to go back to work, Mother?

Mary, did you hear Schultz say that they listened in on the Soviet pilots, that

they could hear them?

The more you dwell on it, the more it will hurt.

If they could hear them, wouldn't you think they'd know that there was

wrong? Mother, try to go back to work.

Somehow we need to pull ourselves back together.

you never told me that you liked the job I did on half the garage.

Oh, well, it was wonderful.

Did you want to do the rest of the house?

You just want to get your hands on the grandchildren.

I have no shame.

I can't wait.

I just want to make sure that you're taken care of.

I miss you.

I love you, pal.

Lillian?

I can come in.

I don't know.

Maybe next week. I don't know.

Lillian, I can't talk right now.

Need a hand?

Sure.

Now. Where were you an hour ago?

Morning, Ernie.

Morning, Miss Moore.

Thank you.

Pass the ball.

Aren't you glad I talked you into this?

It's a gorgeous exhibit.

Say thank you, Lillian.

Thank you, Lillian.

This is the best part of Washington, the galleries.

The museums and the galleries.

When the kids were little, I used to pack them all up, all four of them, and

would go through the galleries.

Jess, keep moving.

I'm not going to pretend I know what you're feeling, but somehow you've got

go on.

How can I help you?

I don't think anyone can who hasn't lost what I've lost.

Hello. I didn't wake you, did I, Mama? Oh, no, no. I was up. I was just picking

out an outfit for work.

I'm going to go to work tomorrow.

Good.

Very good.

What do you need, sweetheart?

Who says I need anything?

Habit. Mother.

Let's start over.

How was your love life?

No, don't tell me.

I wanted to let you know I'm sending you some articles from the Berkshire Eagle

written by a guy named Robert Allardyce.

Oh, why?

Because he's investigated some plane crashes and he has some theories about

happened.

Elizabeth, honey, I want you to look after yourself.

I loved him, Mother.

I know you did, sweetheart, but... You have your own future to be concerned

about. Now you have school, and this is your freshman year.

Mother, this man doesn't think the pilot strayed by accident.

He thinks the course was set.

Oh, but that is insane.

The history of the world is shaped by somebody doing one insane thing or

and gets who has to pay for it, people like John.

Oh, honey, you don't know what you're saying. Stop it.

Mama, do you want to look the other way?

Do you want to say John died and we don't know why and we don't even care

to find out what happened?

Just read the articles.

Okay, Mama?

Our little one's keeping her so busy she hasn't even had time to spend her

break.

It was so kind of you both to drop by during those first few weeks.

Bruce, I don't mean to put you on the spot.

But you're going to anyway, huh?

There's been certain things I've read that I don't understand.

RC -135s.

Now, Nan, the people who really know about RC -135s aren't likely to be

to either one of us.

All these years in intelligence, and you still know nothing.

We couldn't operate without secrets.

It's called national security.

Oh, it was right there in the New York Times.

An RC -135 flew near 007.

But what can say an RC -135 is in the area?

What? All right.

Can you at least tell me what an RC -135 does?

An RC -135 is an airport reconnaissance.

We all know that we're spying on each other. Thanks for

enlightening me.

Man.

It goes back to what we've been doing since the 50s.

Sometimes we take these reconnaissance planes loaded with electronics gear.

We send them right up to the border.

We call it tickling. It's game we play.

And this is in the name of defense?

It's called the Cold War, and it works both ways.

The Russians said that they were confused. Now... Now, why would they

thought that an airliner was an Air Force spy plane?

The Russians were used to monitoring the reconnaissance planes on patrol, but

they'd never seen anything like this.

Two blips representing two planes merged right on the Russian radar screen.

So they couldn't tell the difference between the RC -135 and the airliner

anymore. Exactly.

And from that point on, the Russians claimed a plane, possibly an RC -135.

has headed straight toward the military base on Kamchatka.

Ruth, if there's anything that you know... Ma 'am, the Russians have to

with their version of things, too.

Tickling, huh?

Whatever the reason, Flight 007 was where it was.

It triggered a military alert.

But these weren't soldiers on a reconnaissance plane. These were

people. Ma 'am, I don't know if the plane was sent in deliberately or not,

the Russian defense system lit up like a Christmas tree, and what we learned

from it was valuable.

It was valuable?

I broke your mug while you're gone. I'm owning up to it.

You can have mine.

Lillian, I'll cherish it.

Thank you, honey.

I'm glad you're back.

Ooh, you got a lot of paperwork.

Lillian, it flew over two Soviet military bases, and it had to fly

buffer zone to get there.

Ann, don't do this to yourself.

Just keeps going around in my head.

Somebody must have seen.

I mean, we watch our buffer zone for incoming missiles.

It's going to take a long time to put all the pieces together.

Schultz said in his speech, we knew the Soviet fighter was in constant contact

with his ground control.

We heard them. Now, Lillian, somebody was listening.

Man, the Soviet fighter pilot was speaking in Russian.

Can you imagine the bureaucratic mess until they got a final translation?

Lillian, we live in a world where we can be blown up in minutes.

Now, I would like to believe that our defense system was a little more

than what you are suggesting.

Nan, nobody should have to ever go through what you're going through.

Please, don't make it any worse on yourself.

This guy Allardyce is out on a limb.

How can a guy in Massachusetts claim to know what went on over the eastern

seaboard of Russia?

He's a 747 thought engineer. He knows those planes well.

It doesn't tell you if he's off his rocker.

I want to hear what he has to say.

Oh, it's clear what he has to say.

He asks questions he can't answer and then infers the U .S. is at the bottom

it. Did the CIA have a hand in this bloody mess?

Oh, sweetheart.

All I see in front of you is frustration and bitterness.

You've got to pick up the pieces of your life.

I want to hear something that makes sense. There are a lot of respectable

in this country who believe the plain straight. John is gone.

Come to peace with that.

How? Can you tell me how?

One day I had a young boy, a strapping, sweet, brilliant young man with every

prospect of a future.

And now this is what I have.

A picture of John's tennis shoes amid the debris.

You see the white paint on them?

That's the same paint that's on my garage door.

Now this is what I'm left with. I want to know why.

Mr. Allardyce, that the pilot may have punched in the wrong coordinates, and

that's what's got the plane on a wrong course.

Mistakes can be made, but it's not like hitting the wrong number in your

telephone.

There are three computers that make up the inertial navigational system.

The pilot must enter the same numbers into each one of them.

The numbers must agree with each other. If they don't, lights flash and warning

buzzers go off. What if he puts the same wrong number into each system?

The pilot doesn't fly the plane alone.

There's a flight engineer and a co -pilot. They are all responsible for

in the system, and they are constantly cross -checking.

This sounds crazy, but, I mean, what if all three believed that they were

putting in the right numbers?

Well,

even the crew doesn't fly the plane alone.

There is ground control, and there are waypoints where the pilot must... Check

his location and report it in.

You said that Captain Chun was used to flying this course.

But what if the crew were bored or inattentive?

I was in the cockpit of a 747 for seven years. Some of them spent flying by

Albania. We were issued navigational maps.

And over Albania were the words, Warning.

Aircraft infringing upon non -free flying territory may be fired upon.

without warning.

Now, Captain Shun had a navigational map, and you'd better believe that over

Russia, the same warning was issued.

If a pilot is going to go to sleep with his feet up on the dash, it won't be

during a checkpoint.

Let's say they did make a mistake in the beginning, and it just compounded along

the way. Even so, there are many ways to tell where you are by the checkpoints.

If it wasn't their INS, their radar would have told them that there was a

landmass where it was not supposed to be. If they reported their position and

they were in the wrong place at the wrong time, why wouldn't somebody on the

ground tell them that they were off course?

Because the crew didn't report its actual location.

They reported their position as if they were on course.

You're saying the crew lied?

That's what occurred to me.

Yes.

At first, I thought it might be an equipment failure.

I mean, when I go up in a plane, I depend on that equipment. I want to know

where I'm going to come down.

But it wasn't the equipment.

No.

When there is an investigation, we start with the crash and work it back all the

way to the beginning of the flight to try to find out what failed, what went

wrong to cause the accident.

And what about 007? It just... doesn't hold together. There is no logical way

explain how Chun got where he did by accident.

It's just so hard to believe.

Yes, and I am absolutely appalled by the possibilities.

People put their faith in a commercial airline, and that is a trust that simply

cannot be betrayed.

I mean, who in their right mind would jeopardize innocent people?

There were 269 passengers whose families are probably asking the same questions

you are.

I need a partner for Rich tonight.

I can't.

Well, you can't say I didn't ask.

Oh, it's okay.

This is a study of the incident by an international investigative team. It's

called the ICAO report.

And? And they say it was an accident and that the pilot was inattentive. Maybe

he was.

Lillian, this report was rushed. It was done in less than three months.

Would it change the facts if it took three years?

Maybe.

I mean, I just don't understand.

I mean, even in their own report, these people say that they did not have access

to all of the radar tapes. Now, why would the government hold back radar

You're off on a bad track.

You want to blame somebody.

You can't accept that this just happened, a horrible accident.

Now, this organization had only one crash investigation to its credit. Now,

can this be trusted? Why don't you just yell at the top of your lungs that the

government is lying?

You have to trust the people in power, that they know our interests better than

we do.

What choice do we have?

It was a good film, Nan. Trust me.

Did I snore?

You even whistled.

I'm just so tired.

Well, you've been butting heads with every bureaucrat in town.

Korean Airlines.

If I were you, I'd be tired, too.

I don't want to fight with him, David.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who wants a list of the relatives' names and

addresses. Honey, it's a matter of privacy.

The victim's personal effects was a spread in Life magazine.

Faces twisted with grief.

Elizabeth is in Newsweek. I mean, there's nothing private about it.

You're going to be at this for the rest of your life.

You know...

The newspaper's printed a list of the victims. Maybe that will be a place to

start. You've got to put your life back together again. Help me help you do

that. If only we could find each other. Maybe we could look after each other.

Maybe we could do something. Do what?

I don't know.

Come to the Cape. Change your mind.

Going away for the weekend with you isn't going to help anything.

Sorry if I'm taking time away from your dead son.

listen to the tape over and over, and it is frightening.

The words were very difficult to hear, Mother. We know Bob Allardyce heard it.

He sent it to an acoustics expert, and he agreed with Bob that the last radio

transmission from the plane was very, very strange.

Mom, why don't we go in and buy something pretty?

Oh, no, no, no, no. You go on. I'm going to entertain the babies. All right,

darling. Okay, well, he has some toys if he gets cranky. All right, we're going

to watch all the people. There we go.

Excuse me.

I don't suppose you remember me. My son was on the Korean airline.

Yes. I'm surprised you remembered me. There were so many of us out there at

home that day. Well, I suppose it's all part of the job.

There's a lot of new information that has come to light since then, and, uh,

well, I hardly see anything about it on the television these days.

I think what we came to understand, Mrs. Moore, Mrs. Moore, is that it was a

tragic set of circumstances.

Yes, yes, of course, but that doesn't explain anything.

There really is no reason to keep reporting it.

There have been developments.

I mean, we were told things in the beginning that turned out to be quite

I just work for a local station.

Did you know that at first the transcript of the Russian plane did not

warning to the U .S. airliner?

Now, that was the version that the U .S. presented in the United Nations.

Mrs. Moore, I'm really sorry, but I have to go.

Now there is a far more complete version of that same transcript.

And everybody says that it's quite clear that the Russian pilot did warn the

airliner by firing tracer bullets and by rocking his wings.

What difference would that make?

Well, all the difference in the world. I mean, if the pilot was warned, why

didn't he land that airliner? Why didn't he comply?

I haven't the vaguest idea.

Maybe the pilot knew exactly where he was.

Maybe he wasn't innocently lost.

What would be the point? Well, to trigger a military alert so that we

study the Soviet defense maneuvers.

Who gave the orders?

The military? The head of the CIA? The president? Who are you pointing the

finger at? I don't know, but you have got to keep reporting this. Mrs. Moore,

won't report what I can't prove.

Yes, but the government has held back tapes and records. Why did they say that

the plane was safe on Sakhalin?

Don't you walk away from me, young lady.

You come back here.

Listen to me.

I lost my son.

He wrote a story about his life.

It was a long time ago.

When we come back from Korea, let me help you put things away.

I'm afraid of forgetting him.

Oh, Mama.

Who was he?

Why was he put here?

Why do we think about these things when it's too late?

Thank you.

Excuse me.

I'm sorry.

Um, I don't know if you remember me. My name is Elizabeth Moore, and I was here

in Korea last year.

I'm sorry. Those first few days are still a blur to me.

I'm Anna.

Anna Nielsen.

My mother and I, um... Well, we were hoping that the relatives can get

at the Shilla Hotel tomorrow.

We need to know each other. All of us.

My two children were on that plane.

Yes.

You are organizing a meeting tomorrow?

Yes, we are.

For the relative, is that right?

What do you want?

Our parents died on that flight.

We need to be careful.

We don't have the same freedom here that you enjoy in America.

We want to know what has been said in your magazine and your newspapers.

Here has been kept very quiet.

Well, some people feel that the plane simply strayed.

But we have been presented with a theory.

that says that it didn't.

Captain Chun had been chosen to be the personal pilot for the president of

Korea. He was a heavily decorated military pilot.

How could he get lost?

The plane was only 1 minute and 38 seconds from free airspace.

He was probably counting on the Soviets not shooting at an airliner.

We have a tape that was released by the Japanese.

It's the last transmission that was heard after 007 was hit.

Only one phrase was verified by the acoustics expert, but he was also able

tell us what was not on there.

Even if Chun was innocently lost, he still must have known something was

horribly wrong.

And still, the crew never gave their position and never declared an

Now, it goes very quickly. Listen.

There's going to be a bloodbath.

Real bad.

What if people came forward and said, yes, we knew.

Yes, they sent the plane.

That would not bring my daughter back.

That would not bring your father and stepmother back.

If people fried in hell for this, it would not bring anyone back. That's

But I can't understand why the whole country isn't screaming for an

Absolutely. Because... They only remember that an airplane went down.

feel robbed the way we do. Do you understand what I'm saying? I

you just can't pretend it didn't happen. Bernard, we have to be in charge here.

We're the ones who can make something... They both went to school in the

Philippines.

I let them go alone this time.

Peter was going to meet them.

Hannah, you can't blame yourself for not being there.

Were they frightened?

I was not there to hold them.

Has anyone not put their name or address on this list?

I haven't. I'll be sure everyone gets copies.

I think that we should...

formalize the group by having Anna and Elizabeth be the chairpersons.

I'm so glad that we've found each other.

No one in the world knows how we feel but us.

Perhaps as a group we can find a way to accept what we cannot

change.

Perhaps as a group we can change what...

We cannot accept.

You're going to be in the center of it.

You know,

a year ago, Elizabeth, I could barely get out of bed.

Now I'm angry.

I want to know the truth.

Are you scared?

Yes.

How did John get it in his head that he could make a difference in China?

Was it courage or craziness?

Maybe you need both.

I'm going to have to think about him if I get up to speak in front of people.

Do you think it's possible to be heard in all of this?

I think it's more possible here than anywhere.

Yes,

you're right. I don't think anyone is saying there is any excuse for what the

Russians did.

Well, you seem to feel that this may not have been an accident.

Well, I'm saying that we don't know. I mean, was it a coincidence that it flew

over two of Russia's most sensitive military bases?

It was no coincidence there are Russian bases all over that area. Come on, lady,

you can read a conspiracy theory into anything.

If all of this was something the CIA cooked up, don't you think by now the

papers would have had a field day?

Okay.

Also with today is Captain Paul Billings, a commercial 747 pilot with 11

experience in the cockpit. Captain, why do you think that the plane was so far

off course?

Look, we're never going to know what happened in that airplane.

But I can tell you one thing for sure.

Nobody flies into the Soviet Union on purpose.

The Russians shoot down planes.

We all know that.

Even if you were on a spy mission, you wouldn't fly into Russia. It's suicide.

So, you don't think it was on a spy mission?

Personally, I find it very hard to believe. The government has refused to

release classified information that could jeopardize American interests.

No one disputes this.

But, um...

bureaucratic stonewalling does not exactly prove mass murder.

Okay.

Next caller, you're on the air.

I'm with you, Nan. I think people have short memories. This isn't the first

time.

What do you mean?

1978, a plane flew over a Russian military base also.

A commercial airline with innocent people aboard?

Yes. Like 007, it was another Korean Airlines flight.

It was shot at, but it was able to land. Two people died, though. What was the

outcome? The Russians detained the plane, but they finally let the people

What was wild was the passengers knew they were headed in the wrong direction.

When they looked out the window, the sun was on the wrong side of the cabin.

If the passengers realize this, what do you think was going on in the cockpit?

Well, that's the question we need answered for 007.

Okay, that's about all the time we have. Thank you to Nan Moore, Captain Paul

Billings. I'm Richard Edward Green. Talk radio next week, Relationships in the

80s. Thank you very much. You were both great. Okay, we're out.

Well, you've been making some pretty strong statements.

Well, it's part of our democracy to be able to ask for information.

Naive.

Nan, you've got an axe to grind. You've been through a lot.

Lillian, tell me it hasn't crossed your mind.

Don't you wonder?

If that plane wasn't wrong because someone got so excited at the prospect

tripping Soviet radar, maybe it was planned.

Did you know that there was another Korean airliner, KAL 015, that was just

minutes behind 007?

Now, that pilot, Captain Park, spoke to 007. He even admits that he relayed some

of 007's false position reports.

You idiot.

It is only a matter of time till all of this catches up with you. Look around

you. Who do you think you work for?

The government.

The government that promises us freedom of speech and justice. Are we talking

about the same government, Lillian?

I have always admired you.

I have watched you go through a divorce, get a job for the first time in your

life, raise your children. I have seen you make it through things that would

have crushed other people.

Don't blow it now.

You'll get through this.

I don't want to get through this, Lillian.

The price has been too high to just get through this.

I can't begin to fathom the pain and horror that you have personally

experienced. As the relatives of those who were lost... I know that you

haven't... gotten the information that would clear up the circumstances of this

flight, and I know that this only prolongs your grief and anguish.

Congressman Overstar, we are here because an investigation would fall

Transportation Committee, which you chair.

The motions are high.

I can understand your feelings about wanting an investigation.

Don't you think there should be a more extensive investigation, Congressman,

after all 63 Americans died on this flight, including one of your

Congressman McDonald?

My position is not all that different than yours.

I have been asking questions, too. I have been running into the same brick

There are 1 ,300 documents that have been held back by the State Department.

need to see them. And we need to subpoena all radar operators, all air

controllers. First.

The horse, then the cart.

See, if I don't get more answers, I don't have the groundwork I need to push

a congressional investigation.

With due respect, is there any reason why you couldn't start a preliminary

investigation where you could question the ground controllers in Anchorage, the

FAA in Washington, and perhaps you would learn enough evidence that would

support a formal investigation?

We never buried our dead.

We never got any answers as to why they were flying where they were.

They bought a ticket in New York, they were going to Seoul, and they ended up

shot over Soviet airspace.

And no one has given us answers as to why when we said goodbye to our

in New York, they never came back to us.

It's money.

It all comes down to money.

We've had to tighten our belts because of the Graham Rudman Act. Now it's the

end of the budget year.

I don't have the funds to send a team of investigators to Anchorage or New York.

It costs $80 to fly the shuttle from Washington to New York.

Well, there's more to it than that.

Why don't we meet again in a couple of months? There'll be a new budget then.

18 years in Washington.

Then all of a sudden she announces they're selling their house.

They're gone.

Well, that's foreign service.

You had to expect that one day he'd end up in some place foreign.

Raise your hand if you believe that he was in foreign service.

Let's behave. You don't expect him to go around calling himself an operative, do

you? Well, whatever happened, we'll never know. No, probably not.

Straight answers are hard to come by.

Well, it is our town, you know.

Let's not bite the hand that feeds us.

Billions for defense.

A hair trigger. And we still have the audacity to goad each other.

Nan, please, let it go for the evening.

Nan, the reality is, it's tit for tat.

It's the only way we know to prevent war. We are at war.

Don't you think we should wake up and understand that? This is a party.

Let's enjoy it.

Nan.

It's hard to make sense out of something that was just bad luck.

Well, I'm sorry, but I find it hard to believe that the plane that my son was

flew over two Russian military bases because of bad luck.

Nan, we're really very sorry. Very sorry.

Look, when our children were growing up, I remember you held your little boy

when he fell and he hurt his knee. We all did that for our children. We loved

our children. Nan, why don't you come inside and help me set up the coffee? If

we don't press for answers and accountability, how do you know that

safe or your son or your son?

All you're going to be left with is memories of holding your little boy

cries into your shoulder. Nan.

Go back to the party.

You're pushing away your friends. Why?

They don't want to hear. No, they don't. I don't. Not 24 hours a day for over

two years enough.

Nan.

There's no place for me in your life anymore.

I'm so sorry to call so late, but I needed to talk.

Oh.

Anna, I have been so daffy.

Well, I made a fuss at a party, and it's all over with David and me.

Mm -hmm.

Anna, I don't want to alarm you, but we've got to be prepared.

They're sending personal belongings to the relatives.

They're sending us what's left.

$400.

Who have you been calling?

New York? San Francisco?

Massachusetts? Mother!

Well, I have to keep the relatives up on things sometimes. We just need to talk.

Have you ever heard of a postage stamp?

When Anna Nielsen tells me that she can't take a swim without thinking of

children and the Sea of Japan, she needs to hear a voice. Mother, you have...

Cut yourself off from your friends.

I don't think you allow yourself to have any fun anymore.

Well, power does change.

Mom, John embraced life. You gave him that.

That's who you were.

And I can't stand to watch who you've become.

I love you.

I miss you.

Mary, you have a wonderful time ahead of you. Your little boy is going to

develop and grow.

You'll see him set off on his own and you're going to be bursting with pride.

And maybe then you'll understand my having to know why my son only lived for

years.

Nan, you must appreciate that not everyone is of the same thinking.

See, whether you like it or not, Nan, Cy Hirsch is a Pulitzer Prize winning

investigative reporter.

That's the problem.

His name brings credibility to his arguments and makes it feel as if

nothing left to say. I understand that, but Phil Donahue is not having us on his

show so that we could agree with Cy Hersh's theory that the plane flew over

Russia accidentally. That's right. What we all hold in common are questions.

We see evidence that makes us want to know what happened.

Yes, but we have got to voice all of our doubts as strongly as we can, or we

don't have a hope of... prompting a congressional investigation.

In my heart, I think it is wrong to hold our government up to attack.

It is wrong to say these beliefs are facts and use them to humiliate our

government. But we have facts that raise questions, Bernard. And in our

democratic society, our government has to answer to us. Our government is us.

I know better than you what this government is.

You don't appreciate the country in which you live.

You never had to live in another place, experience other leaders.

Yes, but, Bernard, even if our worst fears are realized, the fact that we

able to speak out, the fact that we were able to have an investigation that

might uncover the truth, makes me have even more faith in our system, have more

belief in our country.

What has brought us together is grief.

I hope...

That whatever it is you are looking for as a group will bring you peace.

But I cannot participate in this public outcry.

Bernard, it's more than two years, and we still don't have all the answers.

It deserves a fight.

I do not want the memory of my daughter to be perpetuated by rage.

and distrust, I must find a different answer for myself.

There is a group of people who monitor the Soviet Union constantly.

They're in the National Security Agency, the men who work for our, that's our

hush -hush secret agency.

These people have, the NSA has stations all over the Far East, in Alaska, in

Hawaii, in Japan, that sit there and monitor the Russians continually.

I've got to those people. I've talked to those people. That's one of the

interesting parts of what I did is I got them to tell me about how the

administration manipulated the intelligence.

None of them, and I've talked to 10 or 12 of those people, none of them had any

advance notice of a flight that day. And there's no way you're going to send a

spy plane in without having the people whose function it is to monitor Soviet

radar be aware of it. And in fact...

We sort of stumbled around a little bit. We really didn't know what was going on

for four or five hours. And the first messages about a plane being lost were

filed to Washington by our NSA to the president until four or five hours

I'm absolutely clear on that, that there was no advance notice of a spy plane.

All I can tell you, if it makes you happier, you can't rule out anything.

But I think really...

The answer is it wasn't a spy plane. If it looks like a duck and walks like a

duck, it's a duck. It wasn't a spy plane. You must share her indignation at

appears to be the attitude that this is a historic event and it's over and we're

moving on.

My indignation is really focused a little differently, but it's there, too.

think our government has an obligation.

The reason the government hasn't talked much about this is there's a little bit

of embarrassment over the fact.

that there was so much intelligence available about the fact that it had not

been identified before it was shot down. That's the reason, obviously, we have

not given full -scale debriefings on the issue to anybody who asked. Because it

involves intelligence collection, too, they will tell you. But the real reason

is because they manipulated the intelligence for political purposes.

you're not getting the information.

I'm mad about that.

I don't think a full -scale investigation by a congressional

anybody into how the plane got off course...

I don't know what it's going to prove at this point. What are you going to do?

You can't talk to the pilot.

Nan's son, John, was 27 when he died aboard this airline.

You wanted to add what?

Well, one thing I will say is that I've had people in intelligence tell me that

it was for electronic intelligence purposes.

I've also had them say, oh, they didn't think it would be shot down.

Now, in order for you all to believe the thesis that he is pushing, you have to

believe that the plane went over Petro Pavlov's base, turned and came down over

Sakhalin base accidentally.

Now, I find that very hard to believe.

I mean, we also have to deal with certain items that we have that are

There's a tape that was made in the anchorage, air controller's tower.

And behind the air controller, the background noise is, we should warn

That's what they said, and they didn't warn them. Now, why didn't they warn

them?

There were 25 children under 12 on that plane.

And we'll be back in just a moment.

not sure that I was as effective as I wanted to be. I was so nervous.

You did just fine.

What you said and how you said it are going to make people care.

Would you be a speaker on the panel after the memorial service? It'll be in

York this year.

After the national exposure we got on Donahue, the press is paying more

attention to us.

Nan, the relatives committee in Japan have pressured their government into

releasing another radar tape.

What I have to say is very unsettling.

Nan, despite what Kasman said, the radar data confirmed that the plane continued

to fly after it was hit by the missile.

Shun had control.

It was a gradual descent.

Then they knew they were dying.

They were in pain.

Oh, God.

Early in the flight, when it appeared that 007 rendezvoused with the RC -135,

Chun lost eight minutes.

He lost eight minutes.

Remember, if we accept that Chun's job...

was to goad the Russians into revealing their channels of communications, then

logically it had to be when a satellite would be in position to collect the

information.

There are observatories in England and Denmark that confirm a U .S. spy

satellite was orbiting nearly overhead.

Chun, well, he had a schedule to keep.

And the passengers?

Chun pushed the plane to the limit.

At those speeds, it would certainly not feel like ordinary turbulence.

If Chun had held his course after he'd crossed Kamchatka, 007 would have been

safe. But he didn't.

As he neared Sakhalin Island, he made an abrupt turn towards Soviet territory.

Six minutes later, he turned westward.

again positioning himself over a military base.

The Soviet air defense was on high alert.

But somehow, the squadron from Kamchatka had been unable to find the plane.

Another squadron took off from Sakhalin.

One plane, an Su -15.

piloted by Major Kasman, found 007.

Later,

the Russian pilot claimed he flashed his lights and rocked his wings as an

internationally recognized warning.

At this point, the co -pilot did a very odd thing.

He called Tokyo Ground and reported a fault announced to him.

Then, he asked for permission to climb to 35 ,000 feet.

But he only climbed to 32 ,000.

The radio transmission was very muffled.

And so are the ones that followed. It sounds like the co -pilot was wearing

oxygen mask.

I think there's only one reason he would have been wearing an oxygen mask at

this point.

He knew he was in trouble.

Gadsden says he fired four rounds of cannon bursts to warn 007.

I believe these bursts of tracing fire were evident to Chun.

Was Chun gambling that he could outfox the Russians?

Suddenly 007 slowed down.

The Soviet plane almost overshot the airliner.

If it had, June might have reached international airspace before Kasman

regroup.

But that's not what happened.

I repeat, I'm behind the object, now I will test the rockets.

Yes, I'm approaching the target.

I'm approaching the target, the target is locked. Yes,

I'm approaching the target, the target is locked. The target is locked now on

the radar, yes.

The target is locked, yes.

007's fate was sealed.

Computers and Kasman's fighter took over. All he had to do was wait for the

command.

Military ground control on Softland worked in a state of panic.

as they tried to reach their key decision -makers in Moscow.

If the plane escaped, there would be dire consequences for those responsible.

Kasman received his orders to fight.

When the missile struck 007, it was only a minute and 38 seconds away from

international airspace.

I wish the story ended there, man.

Kasman said the target is destroyed, but he was wrong.

What has been learned is that 007 flew for an additional 11 and a half minutes.

Fragments from the explosion probably tore into the fuselage.

As Chun struggled to control the plane, he knew.

But the cabinet covered.

Sudden decompression.

At that altitude, the air would have condensed into a fog.

It had to be freezing at that altitude, and yet the plane was descending slowly.

I figured Chun couldn't risk putting the plane under the stress of a rapid

descent, even though he knew people were suffocating.

Shortly after the plane was hit, Chun was on the radio with Tokyo Ground

Control.

Captain Chun flew for at

least 11 and a half minutes.

Never a call for Mayday.

He never gave his position.

That is Rachel.

She was 17 when that picture was taken.

She was very beautiful.

I didn't think I'd have the opportunity to talk to you at the memorial service.

I'm not going to be there, Nan.

Are you sure there's nothing that I can say that would change your mind?

I heard about the scholarship that you've created in your daughter's name.

That is my answer.

You see, I can live with it in that way.

For three years, I've been searching for the reasons why John died.

Three years.

Isn't that an answer right there?

We lost our children, Bernard.

How long will you continue?

Until you are a bitter woman?

Until you lose the capacity to love those who are still alive?

There was a spirit in John that I never really understood until he was gone.

He felt that the individual could make a difference.

And I won't turn my back on that.

Have you ever wondered why they were put here?

What was the purpose of their lives?

That is what is so tragic about losing young people.

All that is left of their legacy are the possibilities.

Why did you come to see me?

John was going to China to teach. He wanted to exchange ideas with the

people.

I think he felt, as you did, that there was only one way to put an end to weapon

and mistrust, and that was by learning, by understanding.

And when I heard about your scholarship, I knew

that... It also honored my son.

And I wanted you to know this.

Perhaps there will come a day when there are no missiles, no fear,

no war, and a plane flying over another country.

will always be seen to be a welcome thing.

I hope for that too, Bernard.

The families of American victims of the KAL007 tragedy,

a support group formed in 1983, held a memorial service today.

to commemorate the dead on the third anniversary of the disaster.

We want a full federal investigation.

It would be a dangerous precedent to allow this matter to simply fade

into oblivion. There are many unanswered questions about the fly.

And while nothing can ever mitigate our condemnation of the Soviet Inhuman Act,

These questions suggest that some responsibility for the tragedy may hit

to home.

There were 25 children on that plane.

Your child could have been there.

My son bought his ticket in the village.

Your children could have been on there.

Thank you.