Ukraine plane on fire before crashing in Iran, says report - The - The Washington Post

A Ukrainian passenger jet carrying 176 people on board crashed shortly after takeoff in Tehran, according to officials.

MOSCOW — Ukrainian investigators are considering the possibility that an antiaircraft missile might have hit a passenger jet that crashed near Tehran, killing all 176 aboard, as an initial report released Thursday by Iran said the plane was on fire while still in the air.

The preliminary Iranian investigation cited witnesses saying the plane was burning and was turning back to Tehran because of the “problem” when it went down Wednesday.

Ukrainian investigators said they were also considering engine failure or a terrorist attack as possible causes of the crash.

The Ukraine International Airlines flight — bound for the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv — departed Tehran at 6:12 a.m. on Wednesday and was approaching 8,000 feet when it abruptly lost contact with ground control, officials said.

The report from Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization said eyewitnesses on the ground and among the crew of another flight in the vicinity reported seeing a fire while the Boeing 737 jet was still in the air, followed by an explosion when it crashed near an amusement park.

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