UIA Flight PS752

 UIA Flight PS752 (Air disaster)

Date	8 January 2020
Deaths	176

Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) Flight PS752, a Boeing 737-800, was shot down by an IRGC air defence missile shortly after take-off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport at 02:42UTC on 8 January 2020, killing all 167 passengers and nine crew on board. Before it had left the airport's air space, the plane turned around and tried to return to the runway.

Iran Admits Its Air Defence ‘Unintentionally’ Hit Ukrainian Plane

In a statement issued on 11 January 2020, the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, admitted that its air defence system had “unintentionally” hit the Ukrainian passenger plane. According to the statement, the Ukrainian flight PS572 "was approaching a site belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and had taken the shape and altitude of a hostile aircraft, when just a few hours had passed since Iran’s missile attacks on a US base in Iraq." The full statement explains the circumstances from the Iranian perspective, expresses deep regret and condolences to the families of the victims.

Victims

The 176 victims on UIA Flight PS752 included 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans and three British nationals, according to a tweet from Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko.

Possible causes - initial speculations

Ukraine's Tehran embassy, which initially blamed engine failure but later removed the statement, said any comment regarding the cause of the accident prior to a Commission of Inquiry was speculation. An Iranian official told the BBC that there was documentation to prove that the plane had a mechanical issue before take-off. It was not signed off for flying, but Ukrainian airline officials had overruled these objections, the official said, without giving further details.

However, the crash's timing - just hours after Iran launched missiles at US targets in Iraq - provoked speculation about other possible causes. Although Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said evidence suggested an Iranian missile brought down the aircraft by accident, the government in Tehran has ruled out a missile strike by its air defences.

Initial report

Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation (CAOI) released its own initial report into the crash on Thursday 9 January 2020. It said the Boeing 737-800 suffered a technical problem shortly after take-off, and cited witnesses, including the crew of another passenger plane, that it was on fire prior to impact. Authorities said they lost radar contact when the plane was at an altitude of about 8,000ft (2,400m), minutes after taking off. No radio distress call was made by the pilot, the report said.

CAOI chief Ali Abedzadeh said:

"Several domestic and foreign flights were flying in Iranian space at the same altitude. The issue of the missile's impact on the aircraft cannot be true in any way."

He added that Iran would not hand over the plane's black boxes to Boeing or to US authorities.

Investigation

On 9 January 2020, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) received official notification and a preliminary accident report from the Islamic Republic of Iran surrounding the loss of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS-752 near Tehran. Under international protocol, the country where the plane crashes usually leads the investigation.

As the aircraft was made in the US, US officials, including from its National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), would typically participate in any inquiry.

Iran had initially ruled out handing over any information to the US authorities. But the country's representative at the ICAO told Reuters on Thursday that Iran had formally invited the NTSB to take part in the investigation, and it has agreed to assign an investigator. Boeing, the plane's manufacturer, has said it is ready to assist in the investigation and will support the NTSB. Canada, France, Sweden and Ukraine will also take part in the investigation.

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