In the course of escorts by the U.S. Navy , the cruiser shot down Iran Air Flight 655 on 3 July 1988 , killing all 290 passengers and crew on board . The American government claimed that '' Vincennes '' was in international waters at the time ( which was later proven to be untrue ) , that the Airbus A300 had been mistaken for an Iranian F-14 Tomcat , and that '' Vincennes '' feared that she was under attack . The Iranians maintain that '' Vincennes '' was in their own waters , and that the passenger jet was turning away and increasing altitude after take-off . U.S. Admiral William J. Crowe later admitted on '' Nightline '' that '' Vincennes '' was in Iranian territorial waters when it launched the missiles . At the time of the attack , Admiral Crowe claimed that the Iranian plane did not identify itself and sent no response to warning signals he had sent . In 1996 , the United States expressed their regret for the event and the civilian deaths it caused
Iran Air Flight 655
Iran Air Flight 655
Iran–Iraq War