4d3fect

On 3 July 1988, the USS Vincennes mistook Iran Air Flight 655 for an attacking F-14A fighter and shot it out of the sky with 2 surface-to-air missiles, killing all 290 civilians on board the commercial jet.

It is the 8th deadliest disaster in aviation history.

Flight 655 was on a routine flight, broadcasting on a non-military channel, and over Iranian airspace when it was shot down.

According to the US military, the Vincennes tried to contact the Iranian aircraft, but received no response, thereby justifying their decision to fire. According to the official investigation, the contact attempts were sent only on military channels, and addressed the non-existent F-!4A fighter.

The U.S. Navy finally claimed that Captain William C. Rogers of the Vincennes acted correctly in appraising the threat. Others in the United States asserted that such blame as there was attached solely to Iran.

Vice President George H. W. Bush declared a month later, “I will never apologize for the United States of America, ever. I don’t care what the facts are.”

President Reagan publicly stated that the downing of a civilian airliner was self-defense: “When the aircraft failed to heed repeated warnings, the Vincennes followed standing orders and widely publicized procedures, firing to protect itself against possible attack.”

On November 6, 2003 the International Court of Justice concluded that the U.S. Navy’s actions in the Persian Gulf at the time had been unlawful.

The U.S. government has, to date, neither admitted any wrongdoing or responsibility in this tragedy, nor apologized, but continues to blame Iranian hostile actions for the incident.

The men of the Vincennes were all awarded combat-action ribbons. Commander Lustig, the air-warfare coordinator, even won the navy’s Commendation Medal for “heroic achievement”, his “ability to maintain his poise and confidence under fire” having enabled him to “quickly and precisely complete the firing procedure.” According to a 23 April 1990 article printed in The Washington Post, the Legion of Merit was presented to Captain Rogers and Lieutenant Commander Lustig for their performance in the Persian Gulf on 3 July 1988.

(via Trump’s Motorcade Driving Across The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool May Have Contributed To Damage)

On May 7, Trump paid a visit to the Reflecting Pool to meet with reporters and inspect the new paint personally. To get there, the motorcade drove across the drained Reflecting Pool from the Washington Monument side. It made an impressive spectacle, but may have damaged the bottom of the pool in the process. Not that this administration cares much about science, but according to Scientific American:

The bottom of the pool may also have been affected by the presence of heavy equipment and trucks—and a presidential motorcade that drove through at one point—while the coating was being prepared and applied