Tailspin: Behind the Korean Airliner Tragedy

As Sgrignoli (whom I remember) said in his review, Larry was obviously not a part of what really happened on that fateful night of August 31 into September 1, 1983. I was a Russian Linguist and came in on the day shift. The movie does not accurately portray what happens in a SCIF (secure intel facility). I would add that I was one of the linguists later assigned in Wakkanai the next year. Even our analysts, as Sgrignoli points out, don't know the actual story. I was assigned in Wakkanai with the linguist who actually copied the shootdown; he told me how it really happened, but I won't go into that detail here. The movie is good for entertainment and to enlighten the common public about that significant event. I hope in this 35th anniversary year that more people will want to remember what happened and why it is important. I went on to leave the USAF after 13 years and did 8 years with the Army, finishing my time in 2004 in Ar Ramadi Iraq. I watched 6 men die (one of them my best buddy) and many others get shot to pieces for no good reason. Death of civilians and soldiers in any way is really so useless. There was no need for the KAL 007 to be shot down, nor was there a need for the "war" in Iraq.

At the time when I saw this film (16 years ago) I wasn't into docudramas yet, nor did I know much about the incident depicted. As I watched it, my respect grew for its makers. The manner in which the film is done is dry, yet very inciting to watch further, much like a smart, well crafted thriller. One could see that a lot of detailed information was acquired in order to make it. The acting is great, the presentation of the facts and the incidents feels clean, accurate, objective and unemotional, yet not dulling the senses, but allowing the viewers to experience their own emotions as they watch. It was the first film that taught me the importance of restraint and sobriety when depicting a tragic story, and how much more effective that can be when those who tell it don't season it with extra emotions and don't let personal views nuance the facts. Kinda like the stuff of real journalism: true objectivity.

I gave the film a 9 because the tenth point I usually reserve for either art films or great films with social/political connotation, but in its genre this film could just as well be a 10, in spite of the fact that it's a bit outdated.

This movie is accurate in all respects and is an authentic reproduction of the actual events that occurred on 1 September, 1983, over the Sea of Okhotsk just southeast of the Sachalin Peninsula, in the Soviet Far East. I was one of only 12 people who were supposed to have full knowledge of these events, as the files were marked: "Top Secret"! It is quite clear that whoever made this movie had technical direction from one of the original 12 people involved. I rented the video "Tailspin" from a local supermarket video department, because it was aviation based and looked interesting. I never would have believed what it contained until it unfolded before my eyes! I was completely shocked as this film played out on my television screen! The complete details were far too secret and previously known to so few people. Every detail in this movie is accurate and authentic in every aspect. I am also amazed that the director had the ability to reproduce the details and situations exactly as they occurred, leaving out nothing and adding nothing, right down to the call-signs of the aircraft involved! In most "docu-drama's" directors/producers have the tendency to "embellish" beyond all reason/necessity, the accuracy and details of the actual events. This did not happen here! An excellent reproduction of actual events made into a great movie!

Larry, you stating you are one of 12 people who knew the details is so far off it is amazing you would post that here where you know many people who probably had more access to the information than you would see your review. I was an intelligence analyst assigned to the analysis and reporting office at the headquarters for ESC on Kelly AFB in Texas and helped with follow on analysis of this situation. There were many more than 12 people with access and involvement in this high level of interest situation throughout the U.S. intelligence community. Multiple U.S. intelligence units from around the Pacific and Alaskan theaters participated in the reporting of this incident. It was further reviewed and analyzed by theater and national level intelligence agencies so hundreds of people were involved in the intelligence efforts. So Larry in saying you were one of 12 people with access to the Top Secret information is doubtful, as most of this information was classified higher than Top Secret.

The movie does make a decent attempt at showing how some of the U.S. intelligence gathering efforts work. Politically the movie does reflect the tension that existed between the Soviet Union and U.S. in peacetime intelligence collection efforts.

The movie is interesting from its perspective of an outsider looking at U.S. intelligence gathering methods.

Most of the world reacted with shock when the news that the Soviets had shot down a civilian airliner, killing everybody on board. This dramatized documentary tries to manifest that unfortunate circumstances and wrongful programming of the on-board navigation computer made the Korean Airlines airliner stray way into Soviet territory. They've even found the pilot of another KAL jet which was right behind KAL 007 on that fateful night.

This movie does an excellent job and I've always considered it an excellent documentary, which gives a great view of what went on in the rafters inside the US government.

However, the trail of clues the movie follows have now been proven more or less completely useless by a great author and former airline pilot: Michel Brun, who has released the magnificent book "Incident at Sakhalin" (Published by Four Walls Eight Windows, ISBN 1-56858-054-1). In here we follow his brilliant detective work, in which he walks around on the beaches of Japan gathering debris from the airliner in positions they couldn't possibly have wound up, had is been shot down where the US and the Soviet Union claims it was shot down.

He proceeds to Tokyo's international airport where he obtains a copy of the radio traffic tape from that night, in which he discovers that KAL 007 was transmitting strange radio messages for another 45 minutes after allegedly having been shot down.

He also gets a hold of radar observations from the northern tip of Japan, in which he discovers that a huge air battle took place that night over the Soviet island Sakhalin, during which at least 10 American military aircraft were shot down by Russian fighters.

Interested? Do a web search for "Incident at Sakhalin", and head for pages mentioning Michel Brun and/or his assistant John Keppel.