CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING FLIGHT 007: THE DOWNING OF KOREAN AIR LINES FLIGHT 007 BY SOVIET INTERCEPTORS ON SEPTEMBER 1, 1983, WAS A CONTROVERSIAL INCIDENT. THE U.S. AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES CONDEMNED THE SOVIET UNION'S ACTIONS, AS THE PLANE WAS A CIVILIAN AIRCRAFT IN INTERNATIONAL AIRSPACE. THE INCIDENT HEIGHTENED TENSIONS BETWEEN THE U.S. AND THE SOVIET UNION DURING THE COLD WAR ERA AND HAD A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AT THE TIME