First Generation turboprops 1947-88

In a stark contrast to the ‘big jet’ market, Europe came to dominate sales of first-generation turboprops, primarily through the efforts of Fokker, with its excellent F-27 Friendship. The basic economics of the turboprop compared to the pure jet are as sound today as they were in the late 1940s. Arranging a turbine, or jet…

Airspace Violation: Korean Air Lines Flight 007

Korean Air Lines Flight 007 was a scheduled Korean Air Lines flight from New York City to Seoul via Anchorage, Alaska. On 1 September 1983, the South Korean airliner serving the flight was shot down by a Soviet Su-15 interceptor. The Boeing 747 airliner was en-route from Anchorage to Seoul but deviated from its original…

Airspace Violation: Korean Air Lines Flight 902

Korean Air Lines Flight 902 (KAL 902) was a scheduled Korean Air Lines flight from Paris to Seoul via Anchorage. On 20 April 1978, Soviet air defense shot down the aircraft serving the flight, a Boeing 707, near Murmansk, Soviet Union, after the aircraft violated Soviet airspace. Flight 902 had veered off course over the Arctic Ocean and entered Soviet airspace near the Kola Peninsula, whereupon it was…