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Did the 747 sustain some kind of massive electrical problem that knocked out its navigational systems, lights and some of its radios? It is virtually inconceivable. There are three independently powered inertial navigational systems on the Boeing aircraft. There are four electrical generators, one for each engine, and each can also be used for such low-power tasks as lighting. As for the radios, there are at least five separate transmitters on board. It is possible that the crew was having difficulty on short-range channels with other aircraft, yet it was never out of touch with ground stations.
Why then did the airliner stray so far off course? That remains a major mystery. The inertial-guidance systems have to be programmed by the crew before takeoff and after various checkpoints along the route are passed. Human error in programming, followed by inattention to course while flying on automatic pilot, is a conceivable possibility. The full explanation almost surely will never be known.
Whatever the answers to these questions, the Soviets clearly violated international law and custom by using excessive force on an unarmed civilian aircraft. "Of course they'll claim they warned the plane—who'll ever prove otherwise?" notes former CIA Official George Carver, now a fellow at Georgetown University's Center for Strategic and International Studies. "But let's not be diverted by fine legal minutiae. They had absolutely no right to commit murder." Experts in international law say the families and countries of victims may have valid claims for damages, but no one expects the Soviets to ever pay restitution.
In the U.S., the Soviets' rash act certainly strengthens military hard-liners and gives Reagan an even better chance to win final congressional approval for deploying the MX missile while limiting U.S. concessions in arms-control talks. Jesse Helms made the point well in discussing the Soviets with conservative colleagues in Seoul last week. Said he: "This is the best chance we ever had to paint these bastards into a corner."
Actually, the painting has already been done. It is a nasty self-portrait that shatters the reasonable image that the Soviets have been trying to project as part of their peace offensive to block deployment of U.S. cruise and Pershing II missiles in Europe. For a nation so profoundly insecure as the Soviet Union, the public relations debacle resulting from someone's decision to shoot to kill was a terrible setback. But that was no consolation for all those families, from 13 nations, whose loved ones vanished on Flight 007. —By William R. Doerner and Ed Magnuson. Reported by Jerry Hannifin and Strobe Talbott/Washington and Joseph J. Kane/Los Angeles