A Ukrainian International Airlines Boeing 737 airplane crashed near Tehran’s airport on Tuesday after Iran attacked two Iraqi military bases housing the U.S. military.
While some called the crash a coincidence, suspicions have deepened since Iran refuses to hand over the black box.
The Boening 737 took off from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport at 6:10 a.m. local time. The pilots made it to 7,900 feet before the plane disappeared from the radars.
Then it crashed in a field 30 miles northwest of Tehran. The crash killed all 176 people on board.
The airplane had no Americans, but killed “[T]hree Britons, three Germans, 63 Canadians, 10 Swedes, 11 Ukrainians, 82 Iranians and four Afghans.”
Initial reports claimed “technical difficulties” caused the crash:
Preliminary statements by Iranian and Ukrainian authorities suggested the plane had suffered an engine malfunction, with an Iranian official claiming the engine had burst into flames.Iran’s English-language broadcaster Press TV cited the Imam Khomeini International Airport spokesman as saying the crash was caused by “technical difficulties.”A statement initially posted on the website of the Ukrainian embassy also said the crash was caused by an engine malfunction and ruled out an act of terror, but that statement was later changed to say all information would be provided later by an official commission.
Rescue teams recovered the black boxes on Wednesday morning. Iran Civil Aviation Organization head Ali Abedzadeh declared Iran “will not give the black boxes to the manufacturer (Boeing) and the Americans.”
Boeing added more doubt to the initial reports by stating “the plane was relatively new, in good condition, and had an experienced crew.”
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