All language subtitles for Mayday.S03E05.Mistaken.Identity.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DD+2.0.H.264-playWEB_track3_[eng]

All hands,
man your battle stations!
July 1988.

A U.S. Navy cruiser
is battling Iranian gunboats
in the Persian Gulf.

Suddenly, its radar picks up
a mystery aircraft.

Is this plane friend or foe?

They have seven minutes
to decide.

...Mode 2, which breaks...

As the aircraft
draws ever closer,
the pressure mounts.

Captain, do you wish to engage
the target at 20 miles?

And the captain is faced
with a terrible choice:

shoot it down or risk the lives
of his own crew.

3,000?

We're not getting any oxygen!
We have the terrain alarm!

- Aero Peru 603...
- We are in an emergency.

It's a routine
short-haul flight,

but an Iranian passenger jet
is heading into mortal danger.

Opening fire with guns.

It's approaching a war zone
in which a Navy ship
is engaged in combat.

The crew are on a state
of high alert.

Anything that draws near
is seen as a threat.

- Air contact still inbound...
- You are approaching
a United States Naval Warship.

Closing and descending
1,000 feet!

Now you're in real
serious business.

- You are standing into danger.
- Wait a minute.
I could be dead!

13 miles!

The aircraft
is not responding to warnings.

Iran Air 655 seems oblivious
to the danger.

In 1988, Iran and Iraq have
reached a stalemate in a savage
eight-year conflict.

It's a war of attrition
and both sides' oil exports
are a target.

The United States has become
the chief watchdog
of the Persian Gulf.

Over 30 U.S. warships protect
neutral tankers.

Dawn, July the 3rd.

After a month on routine patrol,
the USS Vincennes is heading
towards port in Bahrain.

Her crew are due a few days'
rest and recuperation.

But while his men are looking
forward to the July 4th break,

Captain Will Rogers
is already up.

He's received disturbing reports
from U.S. Intelligence,

warning him to expect trouble
from Iranian forces
over this holiday weekend.

Yeah?

In the Vincennes's
Combat Information Center,

the watch officer has received
an urgent message from
another ship in the U.S. Fleet

that Iranian gunboats
are harassing
a Pakistani merchant vessel.

Skipper, you better come down.
It sounds like the Montgomery's
got her nose in a beehive.

I'll be right there.

The frigate
USS Elmer Montgomery
is north of the Vincennes

near the narrow Strait
of Hormuz.

It's here that Iranian gunboats
have been most active
in attacking oil tankers

as they exit the Persian Gulf.

Designed to protect
an aircraft carrier group,

the Vincennes
is a billion-dollar
Aegis cruiser.

It's armed
with Mark 26 missile launchers,

Harpoon anti-ship missiles,

two 5-inch guns,

and the Phalanx
close-in weapons system,

which fires over 3,000 rounds
a minute.

But what makes the ship so
special is its high-tech radar.

The phased-array SPY-1
can simultaneously search
and track over 100 targets

over 300 kilometres away.

To crew members like
Mike Zunino and Mark Nielson,

the Vincennes is simply
"Star Wars at Sea."

I was very proud.

Just technically it felt like
a strong, secure ship to be on.

We felt invincible in a way.

We had...

some of the most up-to-date
weaponry in the radar
and everything else.

There wasn't a whole lot
that we couldn't do.

Inside the Combat
Information Center,

Captain Rogers oversees
a state-of-the-art computerized
command-and-control system.

His large-screen displays
give him an instant picture
of the tactical situation.

Lieutenant Commander
Vic Guillory
is the Tactical Action Officer,

responsible for surface warfare.

Vic, what've we got on visual?

We got a cluster
of Boghammars here,
near the Montgomery.

Another cluster may be closing
a merchant vessel.

Over a dozen
Iranian Boghammar gunboats

appear to be preparing
to attack a merchant ship.

Boghammars are the generic name
for fast speedboats

manned by the Iranian
Revolutionary Guards,

a fundamentalist
paramilitary force.

We knew that they had rockets,

we knew that they had
machineguns.

We knew that if they got
within a certain range,
that they could...

you know,
literally fire off their rockets
and cause grave danger.

In 1988, Iranian forces have
been attacking up to 13 foreign
tankers per month.

Their aim is to prevent
Saddam Hussein
from exporting Iraqi oil.

Captain Rogers sends
his helicopter -
call sign: Ocean Lord -

to investigate just what
the gunboats are up to.

Roger that. Vincennes up.
Vector in Ocean Lord.

Ocean Lord
is a Sikorsky Seahawk,

a twin-engine helicopter
designed for reconnaissance,

anti-submarine
and anti-ship warfare.

Roger, Trinity Sword,
we read you.

Vectoring toward Montgomery now.

Ocean Lord's pilot
soon finds the gunboats.

They're not acting
suspiciously.

But he flies too close
to the Iranian craft.

The response is immediate:
a burst of anti-aircraft fire.

Jesus! Trinity Sword,
this is Ocean Lord 2-5.
We are taking fire!

Executing evasion, clearing!

Two-five,
this is Trinity Sword actual.

Is anyone hurt?
Confirm hostile fire. Over.

Trinity Sword, no injuries.

We confirm eight to 10 rounds

of air bursts
from the northernmost group
of Iranian small craft. Over.

Ocean Lord,
this is Trinity Sword actual.

Return immediately
to Vincennes cover.

Close Ocean Lord's position
at best speed. Bearing 3-3-0...

Under the U.S. rules
of engagement,

Captain Rogers is allowed
to respond with force
in self-defence.

...330, full speed!
Set General Quarters.

Officer of the Deck,
set General Quarters.

The situation
is escalating rapidly.

General Quarters,
General Quarters. All hands,
man your battle stations.

When we went
to General Quarters,

all the hatches
had to be tightened down,

everything had to be
at a certain level of defence,

in case something happened.

Once you get to that station,
you don your helmet,

uh, and your... your gasmask.

Nobody's allowed
to move around the ship.

You're to stay
at your battle stations,
doing your job.

Only 6.5 minutes
after Rogers calls
General Quarters,

the Vincennes is ready
for combat.

The crew have practised
the drill many times,

but today it's for real.

By chance, a Navy media crew
is on the bridge filming

as the ship surges north
at over 30 knots.

Captain Rogers is now heading
for a lethal confrontation
with the Iranian gunboats.

It will be the Vincennes's
first time in action.

The outcome
will be catastrophic.

July the 3rd, 1988.

The USS Vincennes powers north
towards the Strait of Hormuz.

Another U.S. ship has reported
aggressive activity
by Iranian gunboats.

Those boats have already fired
on the Vincennes's helicopter.
- Jesus!

Captain Will Rogers III
has been in the Gulf
for just over a month,

but he's already established
a reputation

as a commander who is prepared
to take robust action.

His ship is nicknamed
the Robocruiser.

Officer of the Deck,
set General Quarters.

All hands,
man your battle stations.

Meanwhile,
some 87 kilometres away,

at Iran's Bandar Abbas Airport,

Iran Air flight 655
is waiting to push back

for a routine 28-minute hop
across the Strait of Hormuz
to Dubai.

Thirty-seven-year-old
Mohsen Rezaian is the captain.

His brother Hossein knows
he's dedicated to the job.

Bandar Ground, this is IR655
standing by for ATC clearance.

He was really enjoying what...
what he was doing.

He really liked it.

He was logging so many hours.

Over 10,000 hours of, uh, flight.

Request update on status of...
Captain Rezaian's
flight is delayed.

It's 27 minutes behind schedule
due to a passenger
with immigration problems.

The holdup will soon confuse
the crew of Vincennes

despite all their sophisticated
technology.

On the bridge, a Navy media
crew continues to film

as the Vincennes closes
within striking distance of
the Iranian Boghammar gunboats.

We got a visual on a Boghammar.

Even though his helicopter
has already been shot at,

Captain Rogers only has
the authority to open fire

if he believes his ship
is under direct threat.

In the Gulf haze,
it's hard to see just what
the gunboats are doing.

One appears
to be going off to starboard
and one's in the middle.

The starboard bow
has a machinegun on it.

But Captain Rogers
doesn't have to wait
for the gunboats to open fire.

If they behave aggressively,
that's reason enough for him
to take the first shot.

Coming inbound fast!
The one at 350 is inbound.

As they turned and
began to manoeuvre and close us
at fairly high speed

and on erratic courses,

uh... we asked permission
to fire a warning shot.

This is Vincennes.
Request permission
to engage Boghammar group.

The surface
commander for the Gulf
is on board his ship in
Bahrain.

Captain Richard McKenna
has no hesitation
in granting permission.

The fact that the helicopter
was shot at, uh,

virtually required a response.

Vincennes, this is Golf Sierra.

Take Boghammar group with guns.

The rules of engagement
at that juncture
were quite clear,

and so there was no question
as to what was required
at that juncture.

I say again:
Take Boghammar group with guns.
Over.

Golf Sierra,
this is Vincennes.

Opening fire with guns,
assumed hostile track 4456.

Vincennes out.
You can fire for effect.

...track with guns.

It's 9:43 a.m.

A routine encounter
in the Persian Gulf
has become deadly serious.

The ship shakes.

Uh, it's a 5-inch gun.

I mean, there's a lot of power
behind it to...
to propel that projectile.

Oh, man,
he's right behind him.

This is the first time
that the crew of the Vincennes
have ever seen action.

Combat was, you know,
that was the furthest thing,
probably,

from any of us, even though
we were a combat ship.

It was one of those things,
like: Aw,
it'll never happen to us.

But yet it did.

The gunboats
are now shooting back,

but their fire
is falling well short.

The Vincennes and the Montgomery
take them on together.

The battle is fast moving,
with frequent changes of
course.

We were manoeuvring rapidly,

because in the first place,

my desire was to keep them
at arm's length, if you will.

We were shifting targets
as rapidly as we could.

And Montgomery,
at the same time,

was directed to engage
the small craft, which she did.

Verify me rounds to the tray?

The Vincennes
and the Montgomery

are now locked
in a full-scale sea battle.

Anything that approaches
the U.S. ships will be assessed
as a possible threat.

Battery released.
Ten rounds, weapons.

Lt. Commander Scott Lustig
is the officer responsible

for alerting the captain
to potential airborne threats.

He's been tracking an aircraft
that has suddenly changed
course

and is now heading
towards the Vincennes.

Track number 4472,
Iranian P-3, range: 62 miles.

The plane has been identified
as an Iranian P-3 Orion,

a long-range maritime
surveillance aircraft.

In a well-rehearsed procedure,

the Vincennes warns the P-3
on a military frequency
that he's being tracked.

...270, this is United States
Naval warship.

Request you state
your intentions.

U.S. warship,
this is Iranian P-3.

Our intention is search mission.
We keep clear of your unit.

The pilot promises
to keep his distance.

But Captain Rogers knows the P-3
is still watching him on radar.

He's concerned that it could
call in an Iranian airstrike.

This battle is becoming
more dangerous by the minute.

I want rounds in the tray.

Give me a firing solution
for that northernmost group
of Boghammars.

Scott,
keep me updated on the P-3.

Meanwhile,
with all his passengers
finally on board,

Captain Rezaian
is ready to depart.

- Confirm taxiway 5 is open?
- Iran Air 655...

On the 3rd of July,
there are 10 civilian flights
scheduled from Bandar Abbas.

But the Iranian air force
also uses this airport.

U.S. Intelligence has warned
that the recent transfer
of F-14 fighters here

represents an increased threat.

Have a nice flight.
- 655 clear for takeoff.

Captain Rezaian
has no way of knowing
that Iran Air 655

is heading directly towards
a raging sea battle.

Within seconds of liftoff,
the Vincennes detects
flight 655.

Sophisticated as the radar is,
it cannot determine the size
or type of aircraft.

Identification Supervisor
Anderson begins a routine

to establish whether
the aircraft is a friend or
foe.

His first step is to use
a system called IFF.

All large aircraft
have IFF.

They all have
Identification Friend or Foe.

Every aircraft has its own code,
and you're able to look up
that code and say, "Okay,

it does give you
more information.

Anderson sets out
to identify the IFF signal
of this incoming track.

At the press of a button...

...an electronic pulse
radiates into the atmosphere...

...and aircraft transponders
automatically bounce back
an electronic reply,

squawking the signature modes
and codes

that reveal whether the aircraft
is a friend or foe.

Modes 1, 2 and 4 indicate
military aircraft.

Iran Air 655
has squawked Mode 3.

Everybody has Mode 3,

so that alone doesn't identify
a non-hostile aircraft.

It could be civilian,
it could be military.

As a military aircraft
could conceal its identity
by squawking Mode 3,

Anderson's next step
is to consult
a commercial air schedule.

He looks to see if there's a
passenger flight due to depart
from Bandar Abbas at this time.

But he finds nothing.

Unidentified Iranian aircraft
on course 203,

speed 303 knots,

altitude 4,000 feet.
This is United States...

So the Vincennes now tries
to contact the plane directly
on a military distress
frequency.

...40 miles from you.

You are approaching
United States naval warship
in international waters.

Request you state
your intentions. Over.

But there's no response.

For all its state-of-the-art
technology,

the Vincennes doesn't have
a radio tuned to civil
air-traffic-control
frequencies.

Unidentified aircraft
on course 206, speed...

So the only option left
is for the ship to call
the mystery aircraft

on the civilian International
Air Distress frequency.

You're approaching
a United States Naval warship.
Request you remain clear.

But there's still no answer
from flight 655.

With the incoming plane
closing in on the Vincennes
at 8 kilometres every minute,

Anderson is now alarmed
to discover its IFF signal
appears to have changed.

The plane is squawking
both Mode 3 and Mode 2/1100.

When Anderson consults
his code list,
he makes a disturbing
discovery.

The 1100 suggests
that this plane could be

an Iranian F-14 fighter.

All stations IDS,

I have a possible Mode 2
on track 4131, 1100,

which breaks as an F-14.

- Possible Mode 2.
- Breaking as an F-14.

I repeat: Incoming Mode 2.

Anderson's words
spread like wildfire
throughout the CIC.

The aircraft is now labelled
as a F-14 fighter

on the tactical displays
in front of Captain Rogers.

Forty-eight kilometres away,
the Airbus,
with its 290 passengers,

climbs out
over the Persian Gulf.

They have no idea
that they've been misidentified
and are flying into danger.

An Iranian
passenger jet headed for Dubai
is unknowingly flying

directly towards a U.S. warship
engaged in battle
in the Strait of Hormuz.

On board the USS Vincennes,

Identification Supervisor
Anderson thinks the airliner
is an Iranian fighter jet.

...which breaks as an F-14.

- Possible Mode 2...
- In the Combat
Information Center,

flight 655 is now labelled
as a hostile F-14.

In the 1970s, the U.S.
sold 80 F-14s to their
then-ally the Shah of Iran.

They are the most
up-to-date fighter
in the Iranian air force.

The Vincennes crew
think they're under attack.

My heartbeat was way up,
my blood pressure was way up.
It was, like, wow.

I mean, the adrenaline
was just flowing.

Lt. Commander Scott Lustig

is Captain William Roger's
anti-air warfare coordinator.

With the incoming plane
only 45 kilometres away,

he seeks permission
from headquarters to shoot it
down if it comes too close.

My intention is to engage
at 20 nautical miles
if he does not turn away.

Do you concur? Over.

You should warn
aircraft first,
then take it under fire.

You start crossing 20 miles,
and that's an absolute threat
to the ship.

You're out there in the middle
of the ocean, uh,
its serious business.

The pressure
on Captain Rogers is mounting.

But at this critical moment,
just when he should be focusing
on this new threat,

his attention is drawn back
to the battle with the
gunboats.

We've got a foul bore
down here.

Captain, we have a situation
with Mount 51.

In the midst of combat,

the Vincennes's
forward 5-inch gun has jammed.

Alright, full rudder turn!

Bridge, CIC.

Hard to port.
Steady ship's course,

280 degrees.
Maintain speed.

...25 knots.

Rogers is forced
to turn his ship at high speed,

swinging the cruiser's
rear gun around
to face the incoming fire.

- ...right now.
- Oh, right on the bow.
- 030...

The ship leans,

so if anything
was not tied down it,
of course, went everywhere.

It went sliding off,
up against the wall.

It turned sharp enough
that if you were standing,

you had to hold onto something
to keep from falling over.

Bring aft gun to bear now.

As Captain Rogers struggles
to keep the gunboats engaged,

Captain Rezaian is busy
with the routines of climbing
to cruising altitude...

Dubai 0715.

Confirm you are squawking
6760.

Affirmative.

Confirmation that
his aircraft is transmitting
the correct civilian IFF code,

so that it can be
easily identified on radar.

In the Vincennes's
Combat Information Center,

Lieutenant William Mountford
sees that the approaching plane

is now squawking
a Mode 3 IFF response.

He thinks it may not be
a military aircraft after all.

Sir, possible comm air!

Captain Rogers acknowledges
the warning,

but he's still concerned
by the plane's failure
to respond.

The aircraft was warned,
warned a number of times,

continued to close.

Time is a demon here.
If I have a long time
to sort things out,

you're gonna take more time
to look at this and more time
to look at that.

Unidentified aircraft on...

As flight 655
crosses the critical
37-kilometre threshold,

the Vincennes warns it
once again to alter course
or risk the consequences.

...20 miles from you.

You are standing into danger
and may be subject to United
States defensive measures.

Request you remain clear of me.

Captain Rogers
now has the authority
to shoot the plane down.

Captain, do you wish
to engage at 20 miles?

Captain, do you wish to engage
the target at 20 miles?

I had difficulty at 20 miles.
I just did not want to shoot.

I could not believe that
this was really happening to us.

Captain, do you wish to engage
the target at 20 miles?

Negative.
Captain Rogers
has delayed firing,

hoping that the plane
will finally respond
to the Vincennes's warnings.

But what happens next
destroys that faint hope.

Petty Officer Leach
is the Vincennes Tactical
Information Coordinator.

He's responsible for ensuring
that all air contacts
are properly tracked.

What he reports now
seems to remove any doubts.

This is a hostile aircraft.

Altitude declining.

They see the plane
diving towards them:
a classic attack profile.

Now you're...
in real serious business,

because anything could happen
at that point, uh...

whether that aircraft
might launch something at you;

it could be the aircraft itself.

Fifteen miles,
that's pretty close
and pretty serious.

Iranian aircraft
on course 211, speed...

Track 4131 approaching
13 nautical miles.

...United States Naval Warship
operating in international
waters.

Wait a minute.
I could be dead!

The tension is just...

continually rising
during this whole time.

Everybody was on edge,
everybody was like, "Oh, my God.
What's going to happen next?"

You are subject to United
States defence measures.

Inbound air contact closing
and descending 1,000 feet
per mile!

Range 13 miles!

Oh, my God,
it's getting closer,
it's getting closer.

What's the captain gonna do?
What's gonna happen? You know,
what are they gonna do?

Iran Air 655
now signs off with Bandar Abbas
air traffic control.

...have a nice flight.

Thank you. Good day.

Goddammit, he's getting close!

Mark incoming Boghammar...

bearing 042.

Air contact. Still inbound.
Increasing speed and descending.
11 miles!

Captain Rogers's worst fear
is that the Vincennes might
face the same fate as another
ship,

the USS Stark.

A year earlier,
an Iraqi fighter launched
two Exocet missiles at it.

Thirty-seven sailors were killed
and the ship nearly lost.

An inquiry blamed the incident
on failures in command.

The Stark had not defended
itself.

Its captain was reprimanded
and allowed to resign
from the Navy.

Air contact still inbound,
increasing speed and descending.
11 miles!

Captain Rogers isn't
about to make the same mistake.

Time is a demon here.
At some point in time,
you have to make the decision.

When their aircraft reached
a little over 10 miles,

at that point in time,
I either make the decision then
or I don't make it at all,

because I reached
minimum weapons' range.

It's the moment of truth.

Captain Rogers turns
his fire-authorization key.

Take order: Track 4131.

- Do I have a take order
on the contact?
- Yes, take.

Birds away. Rails clear.

Iranian aircraft
on course 209,
speed 353 knots...

As the final warning goes out
on the military Air Distress
frequency,

Rogers keeps his finger
on the Hold Fire button

so he can destroy the missiles
if the aircraft
finally responds.

Estimate 10 seconds
to intercept.

Oh, dead.

Up on the bridge,
the crew has confirmed the
kill.

- We had to have got it!
That's a dead-on!
- Relax. Keep the noise down.

The plane they believed
was attacking them
has been destroyed.

Captain Rogers thinks
he has saved his ship
from destruction.

Nothing could be further
from the truth.

Far from saving his crew,

Rogers has just made a decision
that will shock the world.

Goddammit! He's getting close.

At the height
of a naval battle with Iranian
gunboats in the Persian Gulf,

the USS Vincennes has detected
an incoming aircraft.

- Take order: Track 4131.
- In the ship's
Combat Information Center,

that plane
has been misidentified
as an Iranian F-14 fighter.

After the plane has failed
to respond to warnings,

Captain William Rogers
has shot it down.

But Rogers has made
a fatal mistake.

He's destroyed
an Iranian passenger jet,

flying in an international
air corridor.

Two hundred-and-ninety
passengers and crew are dead.

Iranian television broadcasts
distressing footage

of their bodies
floating in the Gulf.

For Captain Rogers,
the burden is heavy.

Whatever mistakes
have been made,

he bears
the ultimate responsibility.

But for the victims' families,
it's worse.

Captain Rezaian's elder brother,
Hossein,

tries to identify his remains
in a temporary mortuary
in Bandar Abbas.

I try not to, uh...

imagine where I went to.

I try to forget it and, uh,

when I, uh...

...look at those bodies,
I just, uh...

...I just can't control myself
and I just try to, uh...

...to think
about something else,
not, uh...

not to think of what I saw.

Captain Rezaian's body
is never recovered.

Really,
it shattered... our family.

Especially his kids, his wife,

my parents, which, uh,
they're still living and, uh...

And, uh, there is not a day
that they don't talk about this,
uh...

...of what happened,
uh, why it should have happened.

There's an immediate
international outcry.

The world wants to know
how a cruiser with
a state-of-the-art combat
system

could have mistaken a passenger
airliner for an attacking
Iranian fighter.

Captain, do you swear
that the evidence

you are giving in this matter
now in investigation...

The U.S. government appoints
Rear Admiral William Fogarty

to conduct an inquiry
to find out what went wrong.

My first reaction was...
it was a tragedy.

The thing that stuck the most,
to me, was you've got some...

a lot of responsibilities
ahead of you, Fogarty,

and probably
some sleepless nights.

...and nothing but the truth,
so help you God?

I do.

The inquiry is conducted
in accord with the Uniform Code
of Military Justice.

The stakes are high.

Investigative journalist
Roger Charles
is a former Marine officer

who's examined the story.

You're looking at a guy
who's on top of the world,

he's the captain
of the billion-dollar Aegis,
uh, cruiser,

and now he's sitting at a table,

facing, uh,
possible court martial and, uh,

you know, even prison time.

Admiral Fogarty's team
now scrutinizes the actions
of Vincennes's crew

in forensic detail.

When flight 655 first appears
on radar,

the USS Vincennes
is in the midst of a battle
with Iranian gunboats.

All aircraft within a radius
of 100 kilometres are monitored

to ensure they do not pose
a threat.

So Identification Supervisor
Anderson starts by checking
his commercial air schedule

to determine
if this is a passenger flight.

But he's confused.
The schedule lists departures
in local time.

But Anderson is unsure
whether that means the time
in Bandar Abbas or Bahrain
time,

which is used on the ship.

You have...
almost 30-minute delay

caused by the late departure
of IRR655

due to a passenger
with a visa problem.

Then you have the 30-minute
different time zone.

So he looks at it,

and he's seeing there's nobody
within an hour
scheduled to be over us.

The IFF system is supposed
to distinguish friend from foe.

Admiral Fogarty knows
it's critical to establish

how the Vincennes could've
confused a commercial airliner
squawking Mode 3

with a fighter emitting Mode 2.

And in your mind,
that was not comm air?

In my mind, sir,
it was not a comm air.

- And why?
- Because I had saw
that Mode 2 squawk, sir.

- The Mode 2 was the big
indicator for you?
- Yes, sir.

From intelligence,

Fogarty discovers
that as flight 655 prepares
for takeoff,

an Iranian F-14
is also on the tarmac
at Bandar Abbas.

It now appears that although
Anderson rolls his ball tab

to "hook" flight 655
as it takes off,

he leaves it hooked
for almost 90 seconds.

So although the hook symbol
moves towards the Vincennes,

the system is still reading
IFF signals from the airport
at Bandar Abbas.

It's a human error
caused by poor design
on this high-tech warship.

He left the ball tab
on Bandar Abbas.

So what we believed happened,

and I'm pretty sure
this is exactly what happened,

he picked up the Mode 2
of the Iranian fighter...

...that was getting ready
for takeoff behind the Airbus.

The identification of an F-14
appears to confirm intelligence

warning Captain Rogers
to anticipate trouble
over the July the 4th weekend.

He now believes the aircraft
is part of a coordinated strike
on the Vincennes

from both sea and air.

Sir, possible comm air.

So he places less weight
on the warning

that the incoming plane
is possibly
a commercial airliner.

Do you recall
Lt. Mountford saying,
"Comm air, comm air"?

I absolutely remember
him telling me that.

And I think I raised my hand
or something to that effect
to indicate I'd heard him.

You held up your decision
to fire?

- Yes, sir.
- Why?

I wanted every bit
of information I could get.

IFF was an indicator,

but I didn't care whether 1100
was an F-14

or that Fokker
that flies around out there.

But at this point I thought:

They always talk to us.

Iranian aircraft
on course 211...

The Vincennes transmits
a total of 10 radio warnings.

Why does flight 655
never respond?

What we do know for sure
is the aircraft did not respond
to the warnings.

He had to have something,
he being the commanding officer,

as proof
that this was commercial air.

He never got that.

Unidentified Iranian aircraft
on course 20...

But the Vincennes transmits
seven warnings
on a military frequency

that flight 655 cannot receive.

The Airbus did not even have
a radio that...

was set or could accept, uh,

the Military Air Distress,
uh, frequency.

It's just not something
they had.

They had no need for it.
They were a commercial airplane.

The Vincennes broadcasts
only three warnings
on the civil distress
frequency.

But they don't clearly identify
exactly who the ship
is trying to contact.

Unidentified aircraft
on course 210,

speed 350, altitude...

The Vincennes radio talkers
are citing the aircraft's
groundspeed.

...bearing 201,
20 miles from you.

You are standing into danger

and may be subject
to United States
defensive measures.

But Captain Rezaian's
instruments show airspeed,

a relative measurement.

Flight 655's indicated airspeed
could've been 50 knots slower

than the 350-knot groundspeed
cited by the Vincennes.

So if the pilot hears that.
"Well, who are they talking to?

They're not...
They haven't identified us.

They must be talking
to maybe the P-3,

or maybe...
some other Iranian aircraft.

Throughout its flight,
Iran Air 655 transmits
its squawk code,

the unique label
that tells radars
what flight it is.

If the Vincennes had called out
that squawk code,

Captain Rezaian
could've known immediately
they were talking to him.

But the U.S. Navy does not
require its radio operators
to use this code

when talking
to civilian aircraft.

As flight 655 nears his ship...

Captain, do you wish
to engage at 20 miles?

...the pressure
on Captain Rogers
becomes intense.

Captain, do you wish to engage
the target at 20 miles?

When you look
at the time window that he had,

he waited
till the very last minute.

And it becomes a point of:

Am I going to shoot,

or am I not gonna shoot
and wait?

In which case he would not be
following his responsibilities

to protect his ship
and his crew.

The decisive factor
in Captain Roger's decision
to fire

are the reports he receives
that the plane is descending
towards him,

apparently about to attack.

- Altitude declining.
- It's the crucial moment.

The inquiry team presses
Tactical Information
Coordinator Leach on his call.

Okay, were you reporting
descending elevations
over the net?

Over the internal net?
Yes, sir.

So in other words,
when you saw that track,
that aircraft start descending,

you were reporting that
up to TAO, CO, Gulf Whiskey?

Yes, sir.

Like an aircraft's black box,

the Vincennes's computers
have recorded all the data

on the Combat Information
Center's screens.

Those records show
that Iran Air 655
had never descended.

It was, in fact,
ascending the whole time.

That was a revelation that, uh,

we, uh, we had not anticipated.

Altitude declining!

Is it possible...

is it possible that somebody,

although the data showed
perhaps that it was going up,

would say it's going down, descending?

Fogarty sends a medical team,
including a psychiatrist,
to the Vincennes.

They report that a condition
called "scenario fulfillment"

could've played a part
in the tragedy.

Range 13 miles!

And as it turns out,

where you believe something
so badly is gonna happen,

that whether the data shows you
it's not the case,

you believe it's happening.

Had those in command
on that day
checked their monitors,

they would've seen
that flight 655 was not diving
in a classic attack profile,

but was continuing
its steady climb.

Yet no one thought to do so.
- Well, Scott, uh,

we have this disparity between
what the data indicates happened

and what the people
said they saw
at their various altitudes.

Any idea why?

Sir, the disparity baffles me.

I thought about this
many days now and...

...I came to the realization
that this data, to me,
doesn't mean anything,

because I reacted to people
I had operated with
who were reliable.

And when they reported
at short range
they had decreasing altitude,

increasing speed,

I had no reason to doubt them.

I had to make
a split-second recommendation
to the Commanding Officer,

and I did.

So Lt. Commander Lustig
trusts his men's judgment,

and Captain Rogers trusts
Lt. Commander Lustig's.

My confidence
in Lt. Commander Lustig

confirmed to me
that the aircraft was, in fact,
a threat.

At nine miles,
I felt I could no longer delay
defensive action.

I granted firing permission.

When I looked at the timeline
that he had to make a decision,

and the information he was given
upon which to make
that decision,

it was my feeling -

to this day,
I still feel the same way -

that he made the right decision,

with the main thing in his mind:

I don't want my ship to get hit.

Take order: Track 4131.

The Vincennes's sophisticated
combat information system

gives its crew
accurate information.

But their fear has created
a threat where none exists.

After a month,
Admiral Fogarty's investigation
is over.

He finds that: "The downing
of Iran Air 655
was not the result

of any negligent
or culpable conduct
by any U.S. Naval personnel.

Captain Rogers
acted in a prudent manner,

given the information
available to him

and the short time frame
in which he had to make
his critical decision."

Fogarty says: "Iran must share
the responsibility

for hazarding one
of their civilian airliners...

in close proximity
to hostilities."

The U.S. government publishes
an edited version
of Admiral Fogarty's inquiry.

But it has concealed
one key fact from the world.

That fact will cast
a whole new light on the
tragedy of Iran Air flight 655.

In August 1988,

a detailed inquiry
by Admiral William Fogarty

into the shooting-down
of Iran Air 655

concludes that the captain
and crew of the USS Vincennes
acted properly

in the face
of what they believed
was a threat to their ship.

But investigative journalist
Roger Charles is not convinced.

He reads a copy
of the Fogarty inquiry

and wonders why it contains
no map showing
the Vincennes's position.

I knew the fact
that there was no such chart
in the Fogarty report,

again, was a signal.

And a curious signal to me.
Why is it not there?

Skipper, you better come down.
Sounds like the Montgomery's got
her nose in a beehive.

I'll be right there.

When Captain Rogers first
hears that Iranian gunboats
are harassing merchant
shipping,

the Vincennes is well south
of the Montgomery and destined
for port in Bahrain.

Golf Sierra,
this is Vincennes.

Request permission
to support USS Montgomery
against surface contacts. Over.

Rogers asks
Captain Richard McKenna,
his surface commander,

for permission to turn north
to support the Montgomery.

But McKenna only authorizes him
to send his helicopter
to investigate.

Roger that. Vincennes out.
Vector in Ocean Lord.

But Captain McKenna
is later startled to discover

that the Vincennes
has turned around and has
closed on the Montgomery's
position.

He orders him
to leave the helicopter in
place and turn back
immediately.

My own personal opinion is,

it really did feel
they were looking for action

when they went to see
the Elmer Montgomery.

Uh, my own feeling
is that the situation
was not out of control.

It was really my call,

and yet,
even though they were assigned
another station,

they took it upon themselves
to be there.

And, uh, to that extent,

I feel that - you know, I mean,

that's where the general feeling
and not just my own -

comes that maybe
they were looking for trouble.

Jesus! Trinity Sword,
this is Ocean Lord 2-5.
We're taking fire!

But once the Iranian gunboats
fired upon the Vincennes's
helicopter,

the situation changed.

Close Ocean Lord's position
at best speed.

The rules of engagement
now allow Captain Rogers
to respond with force.

- Set General Quarters.
- Officer...

He's now authorized
to head off in hot pursuit
of the gunboats.

But where does that lead him?

In 1990, Roger Charles obtains
a copy of a restricted report

on the destruction
of Iran Air 655

by the International
Civil Aviation Organization.

It gives
the Vincennes's coordinates.

When Charles plots them
on a chart,
he makes a startling discovery.

At the time of the shootdown,

the Vincennes
is over four kilometres inside
Iranian territorial waters.

By chasing the gunboats
back into Iranian territory,

Rogers inadvertently places
his ship directly
in the flight path

of Iran Air 655.

Officer of the Deck,

presently hold the ship
crossing the Iranian
declared war-zone line.

If Rogers had not taken, uh,
the Vincennes up to, uh,

attack the gunboats, uh,
there would've been no shootdown
of IR655.

I mean, that's clear.

There would've been
no ongoing surface action,

Rogers would've had
his radar screen set
for the air side of things.

Uh, the focus would've only been
on the air picture.

Uh, they would've had plenty
of time to, uh,

make a proper determination
that this was a commercial
airliner.

Despite the tragedy,
the crew of the Vincennes
receive a hero's welcome

on their return to port
in San Diego.

Captain, do you wish to engage
the target at 20 miles?

Lt. Commander Scott Lustig
is awarded
a Navy Commendation Medal

for his "ability to maintain
his poise and confidence
under fire."

Take order: Track 4131.

Captain Rogers receives
the Legion of Merit

for his performance
as commanding officer
of the Vincennes.

Both men have since retired
from the Navy.

Every year the families of those
who died on Iran Air 655

commemorate their loss
in the Persian Gulf.

For Hossein Rezaian,

the brother
of flight 655's captain,

time has not healed the wounds.

I still feel the same way.

Although I try
to keep myself busy,
not to think about it.

Because it's still, uh, it's...

I mean, it's an unforgettable...

...human tragedy.

Even after 17 years
past the horrors of, uh...

uh, what went on in that, uh...

...that day, you know,
it still, uh,

it still lingers on
in everybody's life.

In a world where technology
grows ever more sophisticated,

fear - the most basic
of human instincts -

can create
the greatest tragedies.

difuze