The crew of the Vincennes, distracted by an ongoing gunbattle, mistakes the A300 for a hostile military aircraft and destroys it with two surface-to-air missiles.
I quickly increased our speed, calculating the time it would take for the weapons-most likely SA-2 and SA-4 surface-to-air missiles capable of Mach 5 - to reach our altitude.
NEWTOWN, Conn.- Targeting pods are sensors that to enable aircraft to discharge air-to-ground weapons at a safe distance from anti-aircraft artillery and many surface-to-air missiles.