Iran's First Report on Ukraine International Airlines Crash Probe: Plane Caught Fire in Mid-Air

Pilots tried to return the plane to the airport but did not report the incident on board to anyone.

The Civil Aviation Organization of Iran published a preliminary report on the results of the investigation into the crash of the Ukraine International Airlines plane, which killed 176 people.

The report says that before disappearing from radar the plane was at an altitude of about 2,500 meters. Iranian experts believe that technical problems arose on board, so the pilots tried to return the plane to the airport. However, FlightRadar24 did not show the plane turning back.

The pilots decided not to report the incident. Witnesses to the crash said that the plane's fuselage was engulfed in flames while still in the air, and it exploded after falling.

Iran's head of the Civil Aviation Organization said that the flight recorders (black boxes) had been found and handed over to the investigator. Documents and testimony about the crash site had been reviewed, and the remaining parts of the plane had been collected and moved to a safe location. The black boxes showed fire damage, so some of the recorded data may have been lost.

Ali Abedzadeh
head of Iran's Civil Aviation Organization

The plane first climbed to 8,000 feet, then information about it disappeared from radar screens, and the plane crashed into the ground and broke apart. The pilot made no radio calls about unusual circumstances. According to eyewitness reports, a fire broke out on board, which increased the flight range, and an explosion occurred after the plane hit the ground. The flight path indicates that the plane was initially heading west, turned back right after the problem arose, and was heading back to the airport before the crash.

Abedzadeh also said the preliminary report results had been sent to Ukraine and the United States, where the headquarters of Boeing are located. Sweden and Canada also received the results, since their citizens were on board.

This morning, Ukrainian President recorded a video address in which he announced that Ukrainian specialists were leaving for Iran to investigate the Ukraine International Airlines crash, and declared January 9 a National Day of Mourning.