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It was shot down at night. There's no way to view the livery on a dark plane at just before 2 AM.

ceejayoz 3y ago
Yes there is; we call them "lights". The logo on the tail was lit up. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:KAL007747-2.png https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:KAL007747-2.png The pilot of the fighter also reported seeing "two rows of windows", which can only be a 747 at the time. https://www.cnn.com/2013/08/31/us/kal-fight-007-anniversary/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2013/08/31/us/kal-fight-007-anniversary/... > “I could see two rows of windows, which were lit up,” Soviet pilot Col. Gennadi Osipovitch told CNN in 1998, describing the 747’s telltale double-deck configuration. “I wondered if it was a civilian aircraft. Military cargo planes don’t have such windows.”
- p_l 3y ago
  Cargo don't. Converted intelligence/C4I planes? Often do. Also, logos like that aren't that well readable especially at speed, and the actual shootdown happened in a way that could be mistaken for evasive maneuveurs. Essentially, I feel that if we're going to let UX take part of the blame for Iran Air 655, we have to allow wider narrative for KAL007 as well (Personally I think humans are directly at fault for both cases)
  - ceejayoz 3y ago
    The only converted 747s with the distinctive double row of windows in military use are the Air Force One and E-4 aircraft I already mentioned. Neither of which is going to be anywhere near Soviet airspace without the Soviets knowing long, long in advance. I also quoted the pilot himself. Further from him: https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1996-12-09-1996344015-story.html https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1996-12-09-19963440... > "I was just next to him, on the same altitude, 150 meters to 200 meters away," he recalled in conversations with a reporter during the weekend. From the flashing lights and the configuration of the windows, he recognized the aircraft as a civilian type of plane, he said. "I saw two rows of windows and knew that this was a Boeing," he said. "I knew this was a civilian plane. But for me this meant nothing. It is easy to turn a civilian type of plane into one for military use." It wasn't a "oops we thought it was an RC-135" scenario.
    - p_l 3y ago
      And I refer to the last sentence. Refitting as a custom job can be very easy, they didn't assume it was a mass produced standardized variant.

Yes there is; we call them "lights". The logo on the tail was lit up. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:KAL007747-2.png https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:KAL007747-2.png The pilot of the fighter also reported seeing "two rows of windows", which can only be a 747 at the time. https://www.cnn.com/2013/08/31/us/kal-fight-007-anniversary/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2013/08/31/us/kal-fight-007-anniversary/... > “I could see two rows of windows, which were lit up,” Soviet pilot Col. Gennadi Osipovitch told CNN in 1998, describing the 747’s telltale double-deck configuration. “I wondered if it was a civilian aircraft. Military cargo planes don’t have such windows.”

p_l 3y ago
Cargo don't. Converted intelligence/C4I planes? Often do. Also, logos like that aren't that well readable especially at speed, and the actual shootdown happened in a way that could be mistaken for evasive maneuveurs. Essentially, I feel that if we're going to let UX take part of the blame for Iran Air 655, we have to allow wider narrative for KAL007 as well (Personally I think humans are directly at fault for both cases)
- ceejayoz 3y ago
  The only converted 747s with the distinctive double row of windows in military use are the Air Force One and E-4 aircraft I already mentioned. Neither of which is going to be anywhere near Soviet airspace without the Soviets knowing long, long in advance. I also quoted the pilot himself. Further from him: https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1996-12-09-1996344015-story.html https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1996-12-09-19963440... > "I was just next to him, on the same altitude, 150 meters to 200 meters away," he recalled in conversations with a reporter during the weekend. From the flashing lights and the configuration of the windows, he recognized the aircraft as a civilian type of plane, he said. "I saw two rows of windows and knew that this was a Boeing," he said. "I knew this was a civilian plane. But for me this meant nothing. It is easy to turn a civilian type of plane into one for military use." It wasn't a "oops we thought it was an RC-135" scenario.
  - p_l 3y ago
    And I refer to the last sentence. Refitting as a custom job can be very easy, they didn't assume it was a mass produced standardized variant.