Ukrainian Airliner Crashed after takeoff from Tehran International Airport

[wing2000]

A Ukrainian Boeing 737-800 airliner carrying at least 176 people crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran on Wednesday, killing everyone on board.

It was unclear what caused the crash of the aircraft, a Ukraine International Airlines flight bound for Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital.

[....most news accounts to date rely only on the Iranian government's sources]

Qassem Biniaz, an official at the Iranian Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, told the Islamic Republic News Agency, the government’s official news agency, that an engine caught fire and the pilot was unable to regain control.

The Iranians referenced the following video:
خبرگزاری ایسنا on Twitter

Notably, the Iranians will not be sending the black box to Boeing, nor will they allow Boeing to investigate which is the normal process after crashes. The Ukrainians announced they are launching an investigation...

 

[wing2000]

....one other note....the 737-800 was only 3.5 years old...

The airline said the plane was manufactured in 2016 and delivered directly from the factory, and that it had most recently undergone scheduled maintenance on Monday — two days before the crash.

Boeing 737 Plane Crash in Iran Prompts Conflicting Statements

 

[HTacianas]

A Ukrainian Boeing 737-800 airliner carrying at least 176 people crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran on Wednesday, killing everyone on board.

It was unclear what caused the crash of the aircraft, a Ukraine International Airlines flight bound for Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital.

[....most news accounts to date rely only on the Iranian government's sources]

Qassem Biniaz, an official at the Iranian Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, told the Islamic Republic News Agency, the government’s official news agency, that an engine caught fire and the pilot was unable to regain control.

The Iranians referenced the following video:
خبرگزاری ایسنا on Twitter

Notably, the Iranians will not be sending the black box to Boeing, nor will they allow Boeing to investigate which is the normal process after crashes. The Ukrainians announced they are launching an investigation...

Somebody went off the reservation.

But hopefully it's just a tragic coincidence.

 

[Cimorene]

There were 63 Canadians on board, some students. There's so much grief.

 

[usexpat97]

Ukrainian airlines crash near Tehran kills 63 Canadians; 176 dead

 

[wing2000]

I strongly suspect that plane was mistakenly hit by a surface to air missile....Iranian air defense would have been on highest alert given events of the last 24 hours....

Though the evidence remained sketchy, aviation experts said that what was known indicated that the plane could have been attacked. Investigators should have that possibility “at the top of their agenda,” said Peter Goelz, a former managing director of the National Transportation Safety Board in the United States.

updated ..
Boeing 737 Plane Crash in Iran Prompts Conflicting Statements

 

[wing2000]

....first acknowledgement by Iran that a missile may have hit the aircraft. Of note, the Ukrainian team includes personnel who investigated the downing of the Malaysian Airlines flight 17 (hit by a Russian made missile). It's early in the investigation....but it's clear, the plan was on fire in the air.

Ukrainian investigators considered the possibility that an antiaircraft missile might have hit a passenger jet that crashed near Tehran, killing all 176 aboard, as an initial report released Thursday by Iran said the plane was on fire while still in the air.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...27434c-3244-11ea-971b-43bec3ff9860_story.html

 

[wing2000]

Additional factors -

-plane had reached an altitude of 8,000 feet, past the stage of highest technical risk for take off
- 3 year old 737-800 that had just undergone maintenance 2 days before (jets simply don't catch on fire and if one engine had issues, jets are designed to fly on one engine
- no radio contact from the pilots alerting the tower of an emergency (aircraft communications likely taken out by a sudden event)
- appears there is no impact crater - indicating the plane broke up in the air

 

[wing2000]

CBS News is reporting:

U.S. intelligence picked up signals of a radar being turned on, sources told CBS News. U.S. satellites also detected two surface-to-air missile launches, which happened shortly before the plane exploded, CBS News was told.

U.S. officials confident Iran shot down passenger jet

 

[SimplyMe]

The New York Times has video that appears to show a missile hitting the airliner, which they claim to have verified is authentic. If you watch the video, you see the missile for just a few seconds (a whitish moving dot), then a bright light were the dot had been, and then you see a yellowish, larger dot, moving in the opposite direction for a couple of seconds. After several seconds after the yellow dot disappears, you hear a distant explosion.

 

[wing2000]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada:
“We have intelligence from multiple sources including our allies and our own intelligence: the evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile,” he told reporters in Ottawa Thursday.

“This may well have been unintentional,” he added
....
The majority of people on the flight – 138 – were heading to Canada, and at least 63 were Canadian citizens.

Ukraine plane ‘shot down’ by Iranian missile, Trudeau says

 

[wing2000]

After days of denial, the Iranian government admitted their military shot down the aircraft:

President Hassan Rouhani, in a message on Twitter, said, “Armed Forces’ internal investigation has concluded that regrettably missiles fired due to human error caused the horrific crash of the Ukrainian plane & death of 176 innocent people. Investigations continue to identify & prosecute this great tragedy & unforgivable mistake.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran deeply regrets this disastrous mistake. My thoughts and prayers go to all the mourning families. I offer my sincerest condolences,” Rouhani added.

A very clear apology. However, it appears the armed forces of Iran are still trying to make excuses:

The passenger plane, a Boeing 737-800, turned toward a sensitive military site belonging to Iran's Revolutionary Guard at an altitude that made it appear to be a hostile aircraft, the General Staff of the Armed Forces said in a statement.

It's highly unlikely experienced airline pilots would have deviated from their flight path just after take off - take off from the country's main international airport which leads to the question: How could an air defense unit not take into account aircraft departing from their own airport? If the flight had been inbound, off-course over sensitive military areas, the mistake would be more understandable. Even in that scenario, one has to ask how they missed the identification from the jet's transponder?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...e21ad8-332d-11ea-a053-dc6d944ba776_story.html