Iran plane crash: Ukraine investigators consider missile strike, terrorism possible causes

KIEV: Ukrainian officials were on Thursday considering terrorism, a missile strike and catastrophic engine failure as potential causes for the fatal crash of one of its airliners in Iran, as aviation authorities in Tehran revealed the jetliner was on fire before it came down.Ukraine’s National Security and Defence council chief, Oleksiy Danilov, said a meeting was taking place with Iranian authorities, where various causes behind the crash were “being studied,” including a theory that the plane was hit by an anti-aircraft missile, according to a statement on Facebook.

Other theories under consideration are whether there were technical problems with one of the plane’s engines that caused it to explode, whether the plane could have collided with a drone or “other flying object,” or whether there was an explosion inside the plane.

The Ukrainian International Airlines (UIA) flight PS752 came down just minutes after takeoff from Tehran on Wednesday, killing all 176 people on board, including dozens of Iranians and Canadians. The Boeing 737-800 was headed for Kiev, where 138 passengers were expected to take a connecting flight to Canada. Ukrainians, Swedes, Afghans, Germans and British nationals were also aboard.

Conflicting claims about potential causes for the disaster began hours after the crash, when Iranian state media blamed technical issues and Ukraine ruled out rocket attacks. Within hours on Wednesday, officials in both countries had walked back those initial statements. An initial report by the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization on the crash cites witnesses as saying the airliner was on fire while in the air and changed directions after a problem, turning back toward the airport. People on other aircraft at higher altitudes also saw the flames, Iranian officials say. Images of the wreckage show the plane torn to pieces, its parts charred and strewn across a field.

The timing of the crash has fuelled speculation, coming just hours after Iran fired missiles at two Iraqi bases housing US troops in retaliation for the killing of its top general, also in Iraq.

Ukraine International Airlines, which had never had a crash before Wednesday, has said it is highly unlikely the cause was error by its crew. The UIA was founded in 1992, a year after Ukraine’s independence from Moscow. Tehran’s airport is complicated and the pilots required several years of training to use it, said UIA President Yevhenii Dykhne. The captain had 11,600 hours of flying on a Boeing 737 aircraft while the pilot had 12,000 hours on the aircraft.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said Thursday he had “suspicions” about the crash of a Ukrainian airliner outside Tehran as US media reported it had been mistakenly shot down by Iran.

Unnamed officials told American media that Iranian air defence systems likely accidentally shot down the airliner Wednesday.