A Ukrainian passenger plane crashed after Iran's air defense unit accidentally shot it down because of a faulty threat-detection system. The Independent reported that a preliminary report claimed that the plane crash, which leads to the death of all 176 passengers and crew aboard the Ukrainian passenger plane, happened because of a series of errors made by the Iranian military.
Iranian Air Force commander admits they shot down the plane, killing 176 innocent passengers. This is not a mistake, it’s a war crime! Why they allowed civilian planes to fly after the fired missiles at US personnel?
Why they didn’t know there was a plane flying? #Iran pic.twitter.com/a8MU3Rejli — Hananya Naftali (@HananyaNaftali) January 11, 2020
The tragedy happened in the early hours of Jan. 8 shortly after the Boeing 737's take-off from Tehran airport. An anti-aircraft missile of Iran shot the passenger plane belonging to Ukraine International. Before the preliminary report was released, the loss of flight PS752 was blamed on the Iranian regime's mechanical failure. However, it soon emerged that the country's military air defense took down the passenger plane.
NPR also reported that Iran already admitted it accidentally targeted the plane after the threat-detection system mistakenly identified it as a U.S. missile.
"PS 752 was identified by one of the air defense units as a threat and targeted consequently," written by Iran's accident investigation report.
Two missiles were fired without any authorization after an air defense unit miscalculated the heading of the plane. Then, they failed to identify it as a passenger aircraft, as revealed by the preliminary accident report from the Civil Aviation Organisation of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran firing missiles at military bases of the U.S. troops lead to the rising tension in the region.
Passenger planes were still allowed even with the rising tension in Iran
Passenger traffic was still allowed to continue, although the air-traffic control responsibility was directed from civil to military commanders since Iran is on a war footing. The Ukrainian passenger plane took off after Iran's Air Defense Coordination Center gave the flight clearance.
UKRAINIAN PLANE
- Crashed on the 8th of January near Tehran
- Iran blamed mechanical fault within hours of crash
- US shared intelligence of Iranian missiles striking plane
- Iran now says its military shot down the plane accidentally
- 176 people dead, with no survivors pic.twitter.com/N9lxHlAx9Y — The Spectator Index (@spectatorindex) January 11, 2020
However, an anti-aircraft battery, which has recently been moved, tracked down the Ukrainian plane. The Iranian military officers thought that the plane departed from the Baghdad area, where a number of U.S. military bases are located. The plane was mistakenly identified as a U.S. missile heading for central Tehran after the threat-detection system, which has not been calibrated correctly, induced a 107-degree error.
A report from the aviation officials claimed that flight had taken an unusual route, but it was later confirmed that the passenger aircraft flew northwest and away from the Iranian capital, just as planned.
"Such a functional failure initiated a hazard chain, which, of course, could be controlled providing other planned measures are implemented," concluded by the report. The missile accidentally sent by the Iranian air defense hit the aircraft, which caught fire and turned to the right, heading back towards the airport.
