Iran Air Flight 655 Facts for Kids

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Iran Air Flight 655
Shootdown summary
Iran Air Flight 655
Date	3 July 1988
Summary	Shot down by USS Vincennes
Place	Persian Gulf
Passengers	274
Crew	16
Fatalities	290 (all)
Survivors	0
Aircraft type	Airbus A300B2-203
Airline/user	Iran Air
Registration	EP-IBU
Flew from	Mehrabad International Airport Tehran, Iran
Stopover	Bandar Abbas Int'l Airport Bandar Abbas, Iran
Flying to	Dubai International Airport Dubai, United Arab Emirates

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.

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.

Images for kids

USS Vincennes had been deployed to the Persian Gulf on short notice to compensate for the lack of AWACS cover.
Iran Air 655's origination point, destination and approximate shootdown location (not necessarily a direct path)
The combat information center on board Vincennes
Captain of the USS Vincennes, William C. Rogers III
U.S. Secretary of Defense Frank Carlucci and CJCS Admiral William Crowe brief media at the Pentagon
Iranian postage stamp issued 11 August 1988

Iran Air Flight 655 facts for kids

Images for kids

See also