Iran plane crash: Did Iran down the plane?

[ad_1] An engine problem may have been to blame for a Ukrainian plane crash near Tehran which killed all 176 people on board, intelligence officials say.

The Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 crashed just hours after Iran fired missiles at bases housing US forces in Iraq, prompting speculations that the aircraft may have been shot down.

However five security officials, including one European, one Canadian and three Americans, told Reuters an initial assessment by western intelligence agencies had shown the jet suffered a technical malfunction. Download the new Indpendent Premium app Sharing the full story, not just the headlines Download now The Canadian source, who did not want to be named, said there was evidence one of the jet’s engines had overheated.

However, the maker of the plane’s engines, French-US firm CFM, co-owned by General Electric Co and France’s Safran, said it was too soon to speculate about the cause of the crash. leftCreated with Sketch. rightCreated with Sketch. 1/18 People stand near the wreckage after a Ukrainian plane carrying 176 passengers crashed near Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran

ISNA/AFP via Getty 2/18 People and rescue teams are pictured amid bodies and debris All 176 people on board a Ukrainian passenger plane were killed when it crashed shortly after taking off, Iranian state media reported

ISNA/AFP via Getty 3/18 One of the engines State news agency IRNA said 167 passengers and nine crew members were on board the aircraft operated by Ukraine International Airlines

Iran Press via Reuters 4/18 Rescue teams work at the scene

AFP via Getty 5/18 Passengers' belongings

West Asia News Agency via Reuters 6/18 Members of the International Red Crescent collect bodies of victims

EPA 7/18 Rescue teams work amidst debris

AFP via Getty 8/18 A relative of a victim reacts at Boryspil International Airport, outside Kiev

Reuters 9/18 AP 10/18 ISNA/AFP via Getty 11/18 AP 12/18 Part of the wreckage

Iran Press via Reuters 13/18 West Asia News Agency via Reuters 14/18 AP 15/18 AP 16/18 AP 17/18 Officials inspect the wreckage

EPA 18/18 AP 1/18 People stand near the wreckage after a Ukrainian plane carrying 176 passengers crashed near Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran

ISNA/AFP via Getty 2/18 People and rescue teams are pictured amid bodies and debris All 176 people on board a Ukrainian passenger plane were killed when it crashed shortly after taking off, Iranian state media reported

ISNA/AFP via Getty 3/18 One of the engines State news agency IRNA said 167 passengers and nine crew members were on board the aircraft operated by Ukraine International Airlines

Iran Press via Reuters 4/18 Rescue teams work at the scene

AFP via Getty 5/18 Passengers' belongings

West Asia News Agency via Reuters 6/18 Members of the International Red Crescent collect bodies of victims

EPA 7/18 Rescue teams work amidst debris

AFP via Getty 8/18 A relative of a victim reacts at Boryspil International Airport, outside Kiev

Reuters 9/18 AP 10/18 ISNA/AFP via Getty 11/18 AP 12/18 Part of the wreckage

Iran Press via Reuters 13/18 West Asia News Agency via Reuters 14/18 AP 15/18 AP 16/18 AP 17/18 Officials inspect the wreckage

EPA 18/18 AP Earlier on Wednesday, independent aviation operations experts said a “shootdown event” may have been the true explanation.

The Ukrainian embassy in Tehran initially attributed the crash to engine failure but later retracted the statement and instead said it was for an official commission to determine the cause.

Flight PS752 took off from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport at 06.12 local time [03.12 GMT], losing contact just two minutes later.

It came just hours after Iran fired ballistic missiles at two bases used by American coalition forces in Iraq in retaliation for the US airstrike that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani on Friday.

Airline officials said most of the passengers were on their way to the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, where they were planning to go on to other destinations. Only the best news in your inbox There were 167 passengers and nine crew members on board, according to aviation authorities.

Among the victims were three Britons, 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, and 11 Ukrainians. Read more The British victims were named as engineers Sam Zokaei, from Surrey, Saeed Tahmasebi Khademasadi, from west London, and Mohammad Reza Kadkhoda Zadeh, from Brighton.

A newlywed Canadian couple, who had travelled to Iran to get married, were also on the plane with four members of their wedding party when it went down.

Iran has refused to hand over the plane’s black boxes – which contain key flight data and cockpit voice recordings – to US-based Boeing or US authorities.

Under International Civil Aviation Organisation rules, investigations into air crashes are led by the country where the accident took place, in this case Iran, but other countries may be involved, including the country of the manufacturer.

Ali Abedzadeh, head of the Iran Civil Aviation Organisation, said it was unclear which country the black box would be sent to for investigation, although Ukraine is expected to be involved in the process.

The crash came after Boeing grounded its 737 MAX fleet after two crashes in 2018 and 2019. The 737-800 is one of the world’s most-flown models with a good safety record and does not have the software feature implicated in crashes of the 737 MAX. Additional reporting by agencies [ad_2] Source link