U.S. military experts left the Persian Gulf on Thursday after a 3{-week investigation of the destruction of an Iranian airliner by an American warship, Navy officials said. The team led by Rear Adm. William M. Fogarty arrived July 5, two days after missiles fired by the cruiser USS Vincennes hit an Iran Air Airbus flying over the Strait of Hormuz, killing all 290 people aboard. Pentagon officials said officers of the Vincennes mistook the Airbus A300 for an Iranian F-14 jet fighter on an attack course. Fogarty's team worked in secret and made no statements before leaving. The U.S. Navy officials said the report would ``work its way up the chain of command'' to Defense Secretary Frank Carlucci. Because Carlucci is in the Soviet Union until about Aug. 8, they said, the report could not be released until mid-August. Investigators compiled data from computer tapes on the Vincennes and two other U.S. warships that were in the area, the frigate USS Elmer Montgomery and missile frigate John H. Sides. They also took sworn testimony from the commander of the Vincennes, Capt. Will C. Rogers III, and other officers of the three warships. An initial 15-day deadline for the investigation was extended at Fogarty's request. The Navy officials would not give details of the investigations and said contact with Iran for information would have to be through diplomatic channels. The Vincennes has been assigned to the Arabian Sea, just outside the Persian Gulf, and is expected to complete its tour at the end of summer. In Ottawa, Iranian diplomat Gholamreza Behtashi said a five-member team from the International Civil Aviation Organization is expected to arrive Friday in Tehran, Iran's capital, to pursue its own investigation into the disaster. Behtashi, third secretary at the Iranian Embassy, said the team is made up of technical personnel from the Montreal-based United Nations agency. ``They will go from Tehran to the Persian Gulf and investigate the various aspects of the incident,'' Behtashi said. Iran asked the governing council of the agency to meet in special session to condemn the attack, but members refused to censure the United States. The 33-nation governing council ordered the inquiry on July 14. U.S. delegate Edmund Stohr said the United States will offer the investigating team whatever help it can. He said the team had not asked to board the Vincennes, and he didn't know if such a visit would be possible considering the military situation in the gulf. ICAO is a technical body composed of 159 nations. It sets standards for civil aviation and airline safety.
A team of investigators , led by Admiral Fogarty , left the Persian Gulf after a three - week investigation into the action of the USS Vincennes in shooting down an Iranian airliner . The team took sworn testimony from the Vincennes and two other warships in the area , and complied data from the computer tapes on the three vessels . Navy officials provided no comment on the report and said that it might not be released until mid - November . Another team , this from the International Civil Air Organization , is expected to arrive in Bahrain on Monday to pursue its own investigation of the incident .