"Pilots tried to return to the airport": in Iran denied the version of a missile attack on Ukrainian Boeing

Pilots of the Ukrainian Boeing-737, crashed near Tehran, tried to return to the airport, which refutes the version of a missile attack on an aircraft. This was stated by the head of the Civil Aviation Organization of Iran Ali Abedzade. According to him, experts came to such conclusions at the initial stage of the investigation.

“Since the pilots of the Ukrainian plane tried to return to the airport, we refused the version of a missile attack on an aircraft,” TASS quoted him as saying.

Earlier, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the liner could be shot down by Iran.

“In the last hours we received important messages regarding the incident ... We have intelligence from several sources that indicate that the plane was shot down by an Iranian ground-to-air missile,” RIA Novosti quoted him as saying. At the same time, Trudeau noted that the missile strike was deliberate.

A similar statement was made by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

“Now there is a large amount of information according to which the plane was shot down by an Iranian ground-to-air missile. It could very well have been done unintentionally, ”Johnson quotes TASS.

In turn, US President Donald Trump said he did not believe in the technical malfunction of the aircraft.

“I have my suspicions ... others also have such suspicions,” he said when answering journalists' questions in the White House. - He flew in a rather difficult region. Some say it was a technical (malfunction. - RT). I personally don’t think it’s even worth it. ”

Among the main versions in Ukraine, they also consider the defeat of the anti-aircraft missile system. According to the NSDC secretary Aleksey Danilov, information appeared on the Internet about the detection of the wreckage of such a rocket near the crash site.

“Our commission is currently coordinating with the Iranian authorities the issue of going to the crash site and intends to search for the wreckage of the Tor anti-aircraft missile according to the data published on the Internet,” he told Censor.net.

Among other versions, according to Danilov, a collision with some flying object (for example, an UAV), the destruction of engines for technical reasons, and an explosion inside an airplane that occurred as a result of a terrorist attack are considered.

According to Newsweek, which cites unnamed sources, US intelligence believes that Iranian air defense shot down the airliner by mistake.

It is worth noting that earlier the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) issued a statement in which "emphasizes the need to refrain from any speculation regarding the causes of this tragedy until the end of the investigation."

Pilots did not report an emergency

Recall that the Boeing-737 of Ukraine’s International Airlines (UIA) crashed after taking off from Tehran Airport. He performed flight PS752 to Kharkov. Killed all 176 people on board - 167 passengers and nine crew members.

Most of the dead were Iranian citizens - 82 people. 63 passengers had Canadian citizenship, ten - Sweden, four - Afghanistan, three Great Britain, three - Germany, two - Ukraine. Nine crew members were also Ukrainians.

The UIA leadership said that the Boeing was fully operational, and the pilots were highly qualified. The company emphasized that the last maintenance of the liner took place on January 6.

“We guarantee the flight serviceability of all our aircraft and the high qualifications of all crews,” TASS quoted UIA President Evgeny Dykhne.

In the investigation of the incident involved Ukrainian and Iranian experts. Canada is also ready to provide “substantial assistance in the investigation,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. According to him, Ottawa is preparing consular groups to be sent to Tehran for relevant negotiations.

According to a preliminary report published by the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization, aircraft pilots did not report an emergency on board. Also reported are eyewitnesses to the crash who saw that the liner was engulfed in fire.

“According to eyewitnesses, the fire was visible on the plane and spread over its fuselage,” the document says.

Flight restrictions

Earlier, some airlines decided to change flight routes so that they did not pass in the sky over Iran and Iraq.

So, the Federal Air Transport Agency warned airlines about the threat to flight safety in the Middle East. The threats are called hostilities and the difficult socio-political situation in the region.

Aeroflot, Ural Airlines, S7 and Utair have changed their routes. Foreign companies include Finnair, Air Astana, and Vietnam Airlines. In addition, the state-owned air traffic services company UkSATSE banned all Ukrainian airlines from January 9 to fly to Iraq and Iran. The ban will continue until the causes of the crash.

* “Censor.NET” - an Internet resource whose materials are recognized as extremist and banned on the territory of Russia (decision of the Kirovsky District Court of Volgograd on 09/04/2015).