Jet pilots say they saw North Korean missile in flight

Pilots of three commercial jets reported seeing what appeared to be the missile that North Korea launched last week, raising questions about the possible risk to civilian flights from the North’s weapons program. The flight crew of Cathay Pacific Flight 893 from San Francisco to Hong Kong last Wednesday saw “what is suspected to be the re-entry” of the North Korean missile, the airline said this week. In addition, the pilots of two Korean Air flights bound for Incheon International Airport near Seoul, South Korea’s capital, saw “a flash and everyone is assuming it should be the missile because of the timing,” said a Korean Air spokesman. The North’s intercontinental ballistic missile flew for 53 minutes last Wednesday before crashing down in waters 600 miles to the east. It had the potential to fly more than 8,000 miles, analysts said, putting all of the continental United States in range. North Korea called the new missile the Hwasong-15, and photos suggested advancements over earlier models. Because the Hwasong-15 and several other missiles North Korea recently tested were launched at a high angle, they landed far closer to home than they could have. Still, several recent missiles have traveled out of North Korean airspace and closer to areas frequented by civilian flights. The North has been carrying out its missile tests without warning for years. The missiles “are predominantly re-entering into Japanese airspace,” Flight Service Bureau, a Florida-based aviation consulting firm, said in August. “This creates a new risk to civil aviation.” More details in story.<br/>