Boston College International and Comparative Law Review Volume 8 | Issue 1 Article 4 12-1-1985 The 1983 Korean Air Lines Incident: Highlighting the Law of International Air Carrier Liability Steven N. Avruch Follow this and additional works at: http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/iclr Part of the Torts Commons Recommended Citation Steven N. Avruch, The 1983 Korean Air Lines Incident: Highlighting the Law of International Air Carrier Liability, 8 B.C. Int'l & Comp. L. Rev. 75 (1985), http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/iclr/vol8/iss1/4 This Notes is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in Boston College International and Comparative Law Review by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. The 1983 Korean Air Lines Incident: Highlighting the Law of International Air Carrier Liability 1. INTRODUCTION At approximately 3: 26 a.m. Japan Standard Time on September 1, 1983/ the pilot of a Soviet Sukhoi-15 interceptor fired a heat seeking air-to-air missile, striking within seconds a Korean Air Lines (KAL) Boeing 747 jumbo jet, which had been flying in Soviet airspace for over two and one-half hours.2 The missile exploded upon impact.3 The KAL jetliner plummeted approximately 34,000 feet and crashed into the Sea of Japan, killing all 269 passengers and crew members aboard.4 Among the passengers who died were sixty-one U.S. citizens." As of November 1, 1984, survivors of passengers killed in the incident had filed approximately 160 lawsuits in U.S.