Quote:
Originally Posted by afc wimbledon
The Vinncennes received the mode 3 Comair response from the airliner, identifying it as civilian, they reported to the captain it could be an airliner, they attempted to contact the plane because their electronics had told them it was civilian.
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This is once again a bizarre interpretation of the fact.
The fact they attempted a civilian communication does not mean they confirmed it was civilian. They sent out 3 civilian communication and 7 military ones.
Also the flight was broadcasting a Mode III squawk, but this is not a response. This is an automatic transmission from the plane. The Iranian plane received the transmissions from the US, but did not respond to them. The problem with the automatic squawks is that they can create confusion about who is sending the signal, especially when there are many signals in one area. The Vincennes had also received military sqawks form the same area.
You also need to start checking your wikipedia sources:
From the article in the wikipedia page:
http://www.iranchamber.com/history/a..._flight655.php
Quote:
"The situation aboard the Vincennes that day was one of confusion and disorder. The story told by the data tapes is straightforward. Iran Air Flight 655 took off from Bandar Abbas at 10:17 a.m. on the morning of July 3, on a heading of 210 (runway 21). Squawking Mode III, Code 6760 continuously, it kept on a more or less constant heading of 210, climbing steadily to its cruising altitude while gradually gaining speed. Data and testimony from the USS Sides corroborate the flight path and the Mode III IFF squawk. Indeed, the Sides was to identify the unknown aircraft as non-hostile and turn its attention elsewhere only seconds before the Vincennes launched its missiles.
The story told by those inside the CIC aboard the Vincennes is quite different. From the first alerted contact, various personnel began to report a "Mode II" squawk on a code associated with Iranian F-14s. Although none of the data recorders reported any IFF response other than Mode III, Code 6760, those aboard the Vincennes continued to consistently misreport the signal.
As the range closed, the Vincennes began to broadcast increasingly urgent warning messages to the unknown aircraft; at first, these were general challenges on both military and international civil distress nets. But as the notion that the aircraft was indeed an F-14 became fixed in the minds of the key operators, the challenges were made more specific and were addressed only to an unidentified "Iranian F-14." A quick thumb-through of a listing of commercial flights missed the clear listing for Flight 655, although it was on course and nearly on time."
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So basically the issue is whether or not the USA properly interpreted the sqawk. However, there was definitely no response from the airliner.