didn t shoot down an f-14. the first inkling that something about this story was not making sense and might be a big mistake. by later in the day that same day, looking at the reports, the reporting that day, just from nbc as it evolved over the course of the day, by later in the day it was clear that airliner had not just crashed, that it had been shot down and it was the u.s. military that had shot it down. it has been one of the pentagon s worst nightmares. a shoot-down of a civilian airliner. the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, admiral william crow, announced the terrible accident. we believe that the cruiser u.s.s. vinsens while actively engaged with threatening iranian surface units and protecting itself from what was concluded to be a hostile aircraft, shot down an iranian airliner over the straits of hormuz. in a statement released by the white house, president reagan expressed regret and said he was deeply saddened over what he called a terrible human tragedy. w