Originally Posted by
WHBM
As I understand it the flight was spot on. The 27 minutes was the difference between gate closed (scheduled departure) and liftoff from the runway (ATC recorded time). Pretty normal.
STD is pushback, not gate closed, and it's hard to envisage a 27 minute taxy at OIKB. In any event, it was reported that visa problems with a passenger caused the delayed departure.
It was the combination of the overall delay and the failure to account for the 30 minute time difference that led the Vincennes to conclude that IR655 would have been in the area an hour previously.