Iran Air Flight 655
 Iran Air Flight 655 | |
| Shootdown | |
|---|---|
| Date | 3 July 1988 |
| Summary | Shot down by USS Vincennes |
| Site | Persian Gulf |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Airbus A300B2-203 |
| Operator | Iran Air |
| Registration | EP-IBU |
| Flight origin | Mehrabad International Airport Tehran, Iran |
| Stopover | Bandar Abbas Int'l Airport Bandar Abbas, Iran |
| Destination | Dubai International Airport Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
| Passengers | 274 |
| Crew | 16 |
| Fatalities | 290 (all) |
| Survivors | 0 |
Iran Air Flight 655 was an Iranian passenger flight from Tehran to Dubai. The aircraft was an Airbus A300 with 274 passengers and 16 crew members on-board. On July 3, 1988 the plane was shot down by the USS Vincennes in the Persian Gulf during the Iran–Iraq War.[1] At the time the Vincennes was exchanging fire with small Iranian gunboats.[1] During the skirmish, flight 655 took off from Bandar Abbas International Airport.[1] The airport was used by both civilian and military flights.[2]
The Vincennes mistook the civilian aircraft for an Iranian Air Force Grumman F-14 Tomcat fighter on an attack run.[3] The Vincennes attempted to warn the aircraft several times but received no reply. However, the warnings were sent on a military frequency to a non-existent F-14 Tomcat.[3] The Airbus crew did not have access to those channels and would not have heard the warnings.[4] The Vincennes fired two missiles which both struck the fuselage of the plane.[5] All 290 occupants on-board were killed.[3]
References[change | change source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Max Fisher (October 16, 2013). "The forgotten story of Iran Air Flight 655". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
- ↑ Alicia Perez (July 17, 2014). "6 Worst Civilian Airliner Shootdowns In The Last 40 Years". IBT Media Inc. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Shapour Ghasemi (2004). "Shooting Down Iran Air Flight 655 [IR655]". Iran Chamber Society. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
- ↑ John F. Burns (December 4, 1988). "World Aviation Panel Faults U.S. Navy on Downing of Iran Air". The New York Times. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
- ↑ "Airspace violations – Episode 8 – Iran Air Flight 655 shot down by USS Vincennes". The Aviationist. Retrieved February 8, 2017.