Initial Information on Iran Airbus Crash Found Critically Inaccurate
Rear Adm. William M. Fogarty’s investigative report on the downing of Iranian Airbus Flight 655 shows that the information initially released by Adm. William J. Crowe Jr. on the incident was critically inaccurate on several major points:
- The plane’s speed.
Crowe: The plane was tracked at more than 500 m.p.h., a speed characteristic of a warplane. Fogarty: The speed was between 400 m.p.h. and 475 m.p.h.
- Altitude and bearing.
Crowe: The plane was flying at between 7,000 and 9,000 feet and diving.
Fogarty: The plane was at 10,000 feet and climbing.
- Flight path.
Crowe: The aircraft was “not in the air corridor that it would normally be in.”
Fogarty: The plane “remained within the . . . air corridor.”
- Transponder signals.
Crowe: “Electronic indications” signaled that the plane was an F-14 fighter jet.
Fogarty: No evidence of transponder signals for a military aircraft.
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