Iran Air Flight 655: 1988 airliner shootdown
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. At the time the Vincennes was exchanging fire with small Iranian gunboats. During the skirmish, flight 655 took off from Bandar Abbas International Airport. The airport was used by both civilian and military flights.
 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 |
The Vincennes mistook the civilian aircraft for an Iranian Air Force Grumman F-14 Tomcat fighter on an attack run. 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. The Airbus crew did not have access to those channels and would not have heard the warnings. The Vincennes fired two missiles which both struck the fuselage of the plane. All 290 occupants on-board were killed.
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