This is not the first time a civilian plane has been shot down. Now let’s take a look at some of the civilian planes shot down throughout history.
On February 21st, 1973, Libyan Airlines Flight 114, a Boeing 727, left Tripoli on its way to Cairo via Benghazi.
It became lost over northern Egypt because of a combination of bad weather and equipment failure. It then entered Israeli-controlled airspace over the Sinai Peninsula. The plane was intercepted by two Israeli F-4 Phantom II fighters, and was shot down after refusing to land.
Of the 113 people on board, only 5 survived, including the co-pilot.
On September 1st, 1983, Korean Airlines Flight 007, a Boeing 747, was scheduled to fly from New York City to Seoul. It was shot down by a Soviet Su-15TM fighter due to course deviation.
All 269 passengers and crew on board died.
On the third of July, 1988, Iran Air Flight 655, an Airbus A300, was flying from Bandar Abbas, Iran to Dubai, UAE. It was shot down by US missiles over the Strait of Hormuz because of misidentification.
The 290 people on board were all killed.
On October 4th, 2001, Siberia Airlines flight Tu-154 crashed over the Black Sea. The plane may have been hit by an S-200 surface to air missile, fired from the Crimea peninsula during a Ukrainian military exercise.
All 66 passengers and 12 crew were killed.