Original version

BBC World Service Online

Witness History

Podcasts

Factual: Life Stories

Factual: History

History as told by the people who were there

History as told by the people who were there.

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

BBC World Service East Asia

Witness History: Flight 655: When The US Shot Down An Airliner

Documentaries

News

Flight 655: When The US Shot Down An Airliner

03/07/2018 GMT

BBC World Service - Witness History, Flight 655: When The US Shot Down An Airliner

All 290 on board were killed when a US warship downed an Iranian passenger jet in 1988

All 290 on board the aircraft were killed when a US warship downed an Iranian passenger jet over the Persian Gulf on 3 July 1988

On 3 July 1988, a US Navy warship, the USS Vincennes, shot down an Iranian civilian airliner over the Persian Gulf. All 290 on board the aircraft were killed, among them 66 children. The plane was flying a scheduled service from Bandar Abbas in Iran to Dubai but was mistakenly identified as "hostile" by the US ship. Alex Last has been hearing a rare first-hand account from Rudy Pahoyo, a former US Navy Combat Cameraman who happened to be filming on the USS Vincennes that day.
Photo: The USS Vincennes fires a surface to air missile towards Iran Air flight 655 on 3 July 1988 (Rudy Pahoyo)

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Witness History

Flight 655: When The US Shot Down An Airliner

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service Online

About BBC World Service