Iran Air Flight 655 was an Iranian passenger flight from Tehran to Dubai. The aircraft was an Airbus A300 with 274 passengers and 16 crew members on-board. On July 3, 1988 the plane was shot down by the USS Vincennes in the Persian Gulf during the Iran–Iraq War. At the time the Vincennes was exchanging fire with small Iranian gunboats. During the skirmish, flight 655 took off from Bandar Abbas International Airport. The airport was used by both civilian and military flights.