22 years ago: 290 civilians dead after US navy missles shot down Iranian airliner
On Sunday 3 July 1988, Iran Air Flight 655, a civilian airliner, while flying from Bandar Abbas, Iran, to Dubai, UAE, was shot down by U.S. Navy's guided missile sent from USS Vincennes, killing all 290 passengers and crew aboard, including 66 children. The incident resulted in the highest death toll of any aviation incident in the Indian Ocean. Vincennes was traversing the Straits of Hormuz, inside Iranian territorial waters, while at the time of the attack, IR655 was within Iranian airspace.
According to the US government, the crew mistakenly identified the Iranian Airbus A300 as an attacking F-14 Tomcat fighter. The Iranian government maintained that the Vincennes knowingly shot down the civilian aircraft. The event generated a great deal of controversy and criticism of the US. Some analysts such as Commander David Carlson, commanding officer of the USS Sides, have blamed Captain Rogers of the Vincennes for reckless and aggressive behavior in a tense and dangerous environment. Craig, Morales & Oliver, in a slide presentation published in M.I.T.'s Spring 2004 Aeronautics & Astronautics, as the "USS Vincennes Incident, commented that Captain Rogers had an undeniable and unequivocal tendency towards "picking a fight."
In 1996, the United States and Iran reached "an agreement in full and final settlement of all disputes, differences, claims, counterclaims" relating to the incident at the International Court of Justice. As part of the settlement, the United States agreed to pay US $61.8 million in compensation to the families of the Iranian victims. However, the United States has never admitted responsibility, nor apologized to Iran.
National Geographic Channel's documentary on this incident titled "Mistaken Identity" confirmed that the airliner was transmitting an Identification friend or foe code for a civilian aircraft. Also, three years after the incident, Admiral William J. Crowe admitted on American television show Nightline (on ABC) that the Vincennes was inside Iranian territorial waters when it launched the missiles. This contradicted earlier Navy statements that were misleading if not incorrect.
