that was 1983. one of the passengers onboard that plane that was shot down was a u.s. congressman named lawrence mcdonald. congressman from georgia. >> i'm roger mud. nbc news, washington. the united states today accused the soviet union of shooting down a korean airline jumbo jet carrying 269 including congressman larry mcdonald of georgia and perhaps 30 other americans. there are not thought to be any survivors. the airliner which originated in new york was on a flight from anchorage, alaska, to seoul, south korea. the u.s. claimed that soviet fighters tracked the korean 747 for more than 2 hours as it swerved off course and wandered in and out of soviet airspace. >> the president was first informed the korean plane was missing last night but not until this morning he was told the soviets shot it down. presidential counselor said the president was, quote, very angry about the attack. later spokesman larry speakes had a formal statement. >> the president is very