NOVA
Missing in MIG Alley
Thursday, September 16 at 8p
In the early 1950s, epic battles unfolded in the skies over North Korea as American and Russian fighters faced off in history's first jet war. This program explores the Korean War's aerial tactics, technology, and grim aftermath for downed pilots, many of whom disappeared without a trace.
The Korean War pitted the two most advanced fighters of their day, the American F-86 Sabre 
and the Soviet MiG-15, in furious air battles in North Korea's notorious "MiG Alley." With the help of dramatic reconstructions, 
rare archival footage, and interviews with veteran American and Soviet pilots, NOVA puts viewers in the cockpit to experience the lethal split-second duels that erupted in MiG Alley. In the most moving part of the program, NOVA also traces the efforts of three families to learn what happened to their loved ones, all Sabre pilots. Russia's newly opened archives provide some clues, while the Chinese are now receptive to searches of Sabre crash sites on their territory.
In 1950, Russian and American fighters clashed over Korea in the fastest dogfights ever seen. This was the world’s first jet war, pitting the two most advanced planes of their day, the American F-86 Sabre and the Soviet MiG-15, in furious air battles that pushed their pilots’ skills to the limit.
The epicenter of the air campaign was MiG Alley, a strip of airspace between the Korean-Chinese border. Flying higher and faster than ever before, American and British pilots had little idea of the hidden dangers that awaited them if they were shot down. Thirty-one Sabre pilots are believed to have survived crash landings, and the evidence suggests that a few of the pilots were captured and secretly imprisoned in Russia.
In “MiG Alley,” NOVA follows the poignant and sometimes harrowing efforts of family 
members to trace what happened to pilots who went missing more than a half-century ago. The program combines forensic detective work with an in-depth look at why the Sabre and the MiG acquired their reputations as legendary fighting machines.
With the help of dramatic reconstructions, rare archival footage and interviews with veteran aces, NOVA puts viewers in the cockpit to experience the lethal split-second duels in the skies over MiG Alley.
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