Tehran, Iran — The Ukrainian jetliner that crashed in Iran was engulfed in flames while still in the air, according to an initial Iranian report released Thursday. All 176 people on board were killed.
The crew of the Boeing 737-800 operated by Ukrainian International Airlines never made a radio call for help and was trying to turn back for the airport when the aircraft went down moments after taking off from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran early Wednesday morning, the report said.
It suggested a sudden emergency struck the plane. Investigators from Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization offered no immediate explanation for the disaster, however.
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Eyewitnesses, including the crew of another passing flight, described seeing the plane engulfed in flames before crashing, the report said.
The Reuters news service said a Canadian security source told it there were signs one of the plane’s engines had overheated.
The crash caused a massive explosion when the aircraft hit the ground, likely because it had been fully loaded with fuel for the flight to Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital. It scattered flaming debris and passengers’ belongings across a wide stretch of farmland.
The report also confirmed that both of the so-called “black boxes” that contain data and cockpit communications from the plane had been recovered, though they were damaged and some parts of their memory was lost.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, meanwhile, said crash investigators from his country had arrived in Iran to assist in the probe. He said he planned to call Iranian President Hassan Rouhani about the crash and the investigation.
The plane was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members from several countries, including 82 Iranians, at least 63 Canadians and 11 Ukrainians, according to officials.
The crash came immediately after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack against Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops amid a confrontation with Washington over its killing an Iranian Revolutionary Guard general in a drone strike last week.
Ukrainian officials, for their part, initially agreed with Iranian suspicions that the 3-1/2-year-old plane was brought down by mechanical trouble but later backed away from that and declined to offer a cause while the investigation is going on.
While the cause of the tragedy remained unknown, the disaster could further damage Boeing’s reputation, which has been battered by the furor over two deadly crashes involving a different model of the Boeing jet, the much-newer 737 Max, which has been grounded for nearly 10 months.
