Iran says it shot down the Ukrainian airliner in Tehran. The event now joins 5 other shoot-down disasters in recent history.

The aircraft was flying home to Israel from London via Vienna and Istanbul when a navigational error sent it into Bulgarian airspace, Haaretz reported. The communist country responded with interceptors that shot down the aircraft.

All 58 souls on board were killed in the crash, with Bulgaria eventually taking responsibility and paying compensation in the amount of $8,236 per person. While El Al is seen as a top target for terrorists since the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, the shootdown was seen as accidental, with Bulgaria issuing an apology.

All 269 passengers were killed, CNN wrote, on the flight that had originated at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport en route to Seoul's Gimpo International Airport via Anchorage. Soviet officials claimed they believed the aircraft to be an American spy plane, The Week reported, that looked similar to the Korean Air aircraft.

It was the second time that a Korean Air aircraft was fired upon by Soviet forces, the first time being in 1978, the New York Times reported, on a flight from Paris to Seoul via Anchorage and Tokyo that also strayed into USSR airspace. The pilot, who cited an error in the aircraft's navigational system for the accidental incursion, was able to land deep within the communist country, saving the lives of almost everyone on board.

The shootdown occurred amid heightened tensions in the region due to the Iran-Iraq War, with the Navy claiming it mistakenly believed the aircraft to be an Iranian F-14 fighter jet. The victim count totaled 290 passengers who were flying from Iran to the United Arab Emirates.

After admitting its error, the US government paid compensation to the victims in a multi-million-dollar settlement.

All onboard the aircraft were killed in the shootdown, which hasn't yet been declared an accident, though a trial is pending for suspects. The shootdown was reported to have links to President Vladimir Putin's government as communications intercepts showed heightened call volumes between the government and the pro-Russia separatists.

The airline had already been under scrutiny following the disappearance of one of its aircraft, flight MH370, earlier in the year. The Boeing 777 had been flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, the Atlantic reported, when it dropped off radar. The full wreckage has never been found.