Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the government was considering several possible causes of a plane crash in Iran, which killed 176 citizens of 7 countries.
In a television statement, Zelenskiy asked people to refrain from manipulation, speculation, conspiracy theories and hasty evaluations regarding Iran plane crash. He also declared Jan. 9 a day of national mourning.
The Ukrainian security council was examining various possible causes, including an anti-aircraft missile strike, a mid-air collision, an engine explosion or an explosion inside the plane carried out by a terrorist.
The investigation would include experts who worked on the probe into the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine.
Iran’s Civil Aviation Organisation (CAOI) chief Ali Abedzadeh says the Ukranian plane that crashed in Tehran on Wednesday, which was initially headed west to leave the airport zone, turned right following a problem and was headed back to the airport at the moment of the crash.
He added that witnesses saw the plane “on fire” before the crash and that pilots hadn’t made any distress calls before trying to return to Imam Khomeini airport.
He said the initial findings had been sent to Ukraine and the US, where Boeing is headquartered. Sweden and Canada had also been sent the findings, as their nationals were on board, he added.
Normally, the US National Transportation Safety Board would have a role to play in any international investigations involving US-made Boeings. But the board must act with permission and in accordance with the legislation of the foreign country concerned.
The Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 to Kyiv had 176 people on board when it crashed in Iran on Wednesday.
The majority of passengers were from Iran and Canada
