Tuesday, May 21
The Ukrainian Plane Crash: Accidental Shooting Down by Nervous Iranian Airforce Pilots?
A Ukranian Airline Boeing 737 carrying 176 people crashed in the early hours of Wednesday morning, soon after Iran’s attack on US bases. There are fears that the plane might have been accidentally shot down by the Iranian military amidst the heightened tensions between Iran and the US.
The airliner, a Boeing 737-800, went down around Parand, 60 kilometers southwest of the Iranian capital and the Imam Khomeini International Airport. The Fars News Agency reported that the plane suffered technical problems that led to its crash.
However, flight data shows that the plane reached an altitude of 2.4 km and then disappeared three minutes after take-off. Video footage appears to show the plane on fire as it fell from the sky into a farm field. This has raised the possibility that nervous Iranian airforce pilots might have mistakenly shot down the plane, especially as Western airlines were barred from traveling around Iranian airspace. The pilots might have viewed the plane as an enemy combatant.
If the flight was indeed shot down by Iranian forces, it would significantly impact the already tense US/Iran relations in the Middle East, especially after reports emerged of Iran attacking two US airbases in Iraq on Tuesday night.
Investigations are ongoing by Ukrainian officials, and more information will be released soon.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his condolences in a message from his holiday in Oman.
‘Terrible news from the Middle East,’ he posted from his vacation in the Middle Eastern country. ‘This morning, after taking off from the Imam Khomeini International Airport (Tehran), a passenger plane of Ukraine International Airlines crashed near the airport.
‘According to preliminary data, all passengers and crew members were killed. Our embassy is clarifying the information about the circumstances of the tragedy and the lists of casualties.
‘My sincere condolences to the families and friends of all passengers and crew members.
A Ukranian Airline Boeing 737 carrying 176 people crashed in the early hours of Wednesday morning, soon after Iran’s attack on US bases. There are fears that the plane might have been accidentally shot down by the Iranian military amidst the heightened tensions between Iran and the US.
The airliner, a Boeing 737-800, went down around Parand, 60 kilometers southwest of the Iranian capital and the Imam Khomeini International Airport. The Fars News Agency reported that the plane suffered technical problems that led to its crash.
However, flight data shows that the plane reached an altitude of 2.4 km and then disappeared three minutes after take-off. Video footage appears to show the plane on fire as it fell from the sky into a farm field. This has raised the possibility that nervous Iranian airforce pilots might have mistakenly shot down the plane, especially as Western airlines were barred from traveling around Iranian airspace. The pilots might have viewed the plane as an enemy combatant.
If the flight was indeed shot down by Iranian forces, it would significantly impact the already tense US/Iran relations in the Middle East, especially after reports emerged of Iran attacking two US airbases in Iraq on Tuesday night.
Investigations are ongoing by Ukrainian officials, and more information will be released soon.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his condolences in a message from his holiday in Oman.
‘Terrible news from the Middle East,’ he posted from his vacation in the Middle Eastern country. ‘This morning, after taking off from the Imam Khomeini International Airport (Tehran), a passenger plane of Ukraine International Airlines crashed near the airport.
‘According to preliminary data, all passengers and crew members were killed. Our embassy is clarifying the information about the circumstances of the tragedy and the lists of casualties.
‘My sincere condolences to the families and friends of all passengers and crew members.