In the wake of revelations that a Ukrainian airliner appeared to have been accidentally shot down by Iran this week, Fox & Friends co-host Steve Doocy wondered aloud on Friday morning what the international reaction would be if the United States took down a civilian plane, seemingly unaware that it has actually happened.
Discussing the latest developments surrounding the downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752, which was likely shot out of the sky by an Iranian missile hours after Iran’s missile attack on Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops, Doocy welcomed on Fox News star Geraldo Rivera with a direct question.
“Geraldo, can you imagine if the United States of America accidentally shot down a jetliner?" Doocy asked.
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Rivera, meanwhile, let Doocy know that the U.S. was responsible for a very similar incident that involved Iran.
“Well, you know Steve, we did in 1988,” Rivera noted, referencing the U.S. Navy mistakenly shooting down Iran Air Flight 655. “It was an international—well not a scandal, but a big debate.”
“We paid a lot of money,” co-host Brian Kilmeade interjected. Eight years after the incident, the United States reached a settlement with Iran, paying the families of the victims $61.8 million.
“Our guided-missile frigate Vincennes in the gulf there, shot down an Iranian passenger airliner,” Rivera continued. “Two hundred and ninety died, including over 60 children, and it was something that took us years to live down and we did, as Brian suggested, pay tremendous compensation.”
Doocy seemingly appearing unaware that the United States had shot down a civilian airliner in the past flies in the face of his lengthy experience as a reporter and TV host. Back when the U.S took down IR655, a 31-year-old Doocy was working as a features reporter for Washington, D.C., news station WRC.
