route from new york s jfk airport to seoul, south korea. it s carrying 269 people, including a u.s. congressman. the plane is on autopilot, yet somehow drifts off course, heading straight for soviet territory. tensions are high, the height of the cold war. so the soviet union scrambles fighter jets. yes, i m approaching the target. reporter: moments later, the pilot takes aim. missile warheads locked on. i ve executed the launch. the target is destroyed. reporter: the plane is hit, but continues flying. it spirals towards the ocean for 12 terrifying minutes, then crashes into the sea. president reagan calls the attack a massacre. this event shocks the sensibilities of people everywhere. reporter: five years after that, iran air flight 655 is blown out of the sky. the airbus a300 was on its way from tehran to dubai, carrying