The Soviet Union initially denied any knowledge of the plane, then fabricated observations about the plane so military commanders could claim that it had not appeared to be a civilian aircraft. They accused the United States of having sent the plane to spy on them and even of attempting to incite war. During search-and-rescue, American and Soviet teams did their best to obstruct each other, and even after the plane’s black boxes were released after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, there is still some controversy and plenty of conspiracy theories concerning this plane.
