Iran Air Flight 655 was a scheduled civilian passenger flight from Tehran to Dubai. On 3 July 1988, the aircraft operating on this route was shot down by the United States Navy guided missile cruiser USS Vincennes under the command of William C. Rogers III. The incident took place in Iranian airspace, over Iran's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf, and on the flight's usual flight path. The aircraft, an Airbus A300B2-203, was destroyed by SM-2MR surface-to-air missiles fired from Vincennes, killing all 290 people including 66 children on board. Vincennes had entered Iranian territorial waters after one of its helicopters drew warning fire from Iranian speedboats operating within Iranian territorial limits.
According to the United States government, the crew incorrectly identified the Iranian A300 as an attacking F-14A Tomcat fighter, a plane made in the United States and operated at that time by only two forces worldwide, the United States Navy and the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force. While Grumman had supplied F14's to Iran in an air-to-air configuration only in the 1970s, the crew of Vincennes had been briefed when entering the region that the Iranian F-14s carried unguided bombs, AGM-65 Maverick missiles, and unguided rockets. The Vincennes crew made ten attempts to contact the crew of the flight on both military and civilian radio frequencies, but received no response. The International Civil Aviation Organization said that the flight crew should have been monitoring the civilian frequency.
According to the Iranian government, Vincennes negligently shot down the aircraft: the airliner was making IFF squawks in Mode III, a signal that identified it as a civilian plane, and not Mode II as used by Iranian military planes. The event generated a great deal of criticism of the United States. Some analysts blamed the captain of Vincennes, who had entered Iran's waters, for overly-aggressive behavior in a tense and dangerous environment.
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USS Vincennes was in Iranian territorial water.According to the United States government, the crew incorrectly identified the Iranian A300 as an attacking F-14A Tomcat fighter, a plane made in the United States and operated at that time by only two forces worldwide, the United States Navy and the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force. While Grumman had supplied F14's to Iran in an air-to-air configuration only in the 1970s, the crew of Vincennes had been briefed when entering the region that the Iranian F-14s carried unguided bombs, AGM-65 Maverick missiles, and unguided rockets. The Vincennes crew made ten attempts to contact the crew of the flight on both military and civilian radio frequencies, but received no response. The International Civil Aviation Organization said that the flight crew should have been monitoring the civilian frequency.
According to the Iranian government, Vincennes negligently shot down the aircraft: the airliner was making IFF squawks in Mode III, a signal that identified it as a civilian plane, and not Mode II as used by Iranian military planes. The event generated a great deal of criticism of the United States. Some analysts blamed the captain of Vincennes, who had entered Iran's waters, for overly-aggressive behavior in a tense and dangerous environment.
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Video on the incident.
Interesting revelations (CIA cover up?) from about 30:00.
