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]
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