Part 2/9:
On the night of August 31, 1983, the Boeing 747 known as Flight 007 pushed back from the gate at Anchorage, Alaska, setting its course toward Seoul. With 246 passengers and 23 crew members on board, the flight was piloted by Captain Chung Bong-in and First Officer Son Dong-hee, both experienced airmen with backgrounds in the Korean Air Force. Their aircraft would take the Romeo 2-0 route, a pathway trodden frequently by airlines due to its brevity over the vast North Pacific—albeit perilously close to Soviet airspace.