Word: airbus
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Persian Gulf between the armed forces of the U.S. and Iran. But the affair quickly developed into something far worse. On Sunday morning the Navy cruiser U.S.S. Vincennes, while battling several Iranian speedboats in the Strait of Hormuz, mistakenly shot down an Iranian commercial airliner. Iran said the Airbus A300 "exploded in the sky," killing all 298 people on board. Officers on the Vincennes had believed the aircraft was an Iranian F-14 fighter jet that was attacking the U.S. ship. The tragedy immediately invited comparison with the 1983 downing by the Soviet Union of a Korean Air Lines Boeing...
...Iranian Airbus was apparently hit by an SM-2 Standard Missile from the Vincennes at about 10:54 a.m. (2:54 a.m. Washington time), but more than eleven hours passed before what had happened became clear. At midday the U.S. was sticking to its contention that the ship had defended itself against an F- 14. Finally, at 1:20 p.m. Washington time, White House Spokesman Marlin Fitzwater read a statement from President Reagan, who had been awakened at Camp David at 4:52 a.m. and told of the new fighting. "I am saddened to report," said the President, "that...
...incident seemed certain to escalate the confrontation in the gulf between the U.S. and Iran. Declared Radio Tehran: "America's crime today in downing an Iranian Airbus is . . . new evidence of American crimes and mischiefs, crimes which expose America's nature more than ever before...
...disturbing questions remain. Why was the Vincennes, which has some of the most sophisticated radar available, unable to tell an F-14 fighter from an % Airbus wide body? Crowe explained that while the system is accurate in gauging the number, range and altitude of approaching aircraft, it is "difficult" to identify the type of aircraft "from a radar blip." One reason the ship mistook the Airbus was that it was descending from an altitude of 9,000 ft. to 7,000 ft. What it was doing at that level is a mystery, according to one Pentagon official, since commercial jets...
...publicity. An Aloha Airlines Boeing 737 ripped open over - Hawaii last month, and several airlines have voiced concerns about quality control on production of the Seattle-based company's 747 and 767 models. ILFC ordered 78 737s, nine 757s, nine 767s and four 747s for $3.7 billion. Europe's Airbus, which has been making inroads in the U.S. market, expressed satisfaction with its $1.3 billion share of the ILFC contract. The only real loser was St. Louis-based McDonnell Douglas. It too bid for the order, but came away with nothing...