The recent face-off between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran could be the reason why the Ukrainian plane, with 176 people on board, was shot down outside Tehran by Iranian forces, as the conflict between the duo involves aerial fighting.
According to Ukraine Foreign Minister, Vadym Prystaiko, the passenger jet was carrying 82 Iranians and 63 Canadians.
Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, during a news conference said; “We have intelligence from multiple sources including our allies and our own intelligence. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile.” adding that the attack may have been unintentional.
The recent face-off between the two countries started after the United States killed Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force and architect of Iran’s spreading military influence in the Middle East, in an air strike last Friday at Baghdad airport.
A US newspaper website in its report on Thursday said it obtained a 10 seconds video which appears to show an Iranian missile hitting a plane near Tehran’s airport, the area where a Ukrainian jet crashed on Wednesday, killing all 176 people on board.
Iran, which is currently under sanction by the United States, said it will not hand over black box flight recorders recovered from a plane that went down just minutes after taking off from Tehran’s airport to the manufacturer, Boeing or to the US; a statement which has raised eyebrows making many to believe that the plane was attacked by Iran.
Findings made by Igbere TV shows that under global aviation rules, Iran has the right to lead the investigation of the alleged crash.
It was further gathered that to investigate a plane crash, manufacturers are typically involved and only few countries excluding Iran are capable of analysing black boxes.
On July 3, 1988, an Iran Air Flight 655 which was a scheduled passenger flight from Tehran to Dubai via Bandar with 274 passengers and 16 flight crew was shot down by standard missiles SM-2MR fired by the United States Navy, killing all on board.
Below are some of deadliest attacks on passengers jet gathered by Igbere TV.
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17
Year: 2014
A Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, Boeing 777-200ER, flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, with 283 passengers and 15 crew were killed, including 80 children on board, on 17 July 2014, was hit by a Soviet-made Buk surface-to-air missile leaving no survivor.
Mogadishu TransAVIAexport Airlines (Somalia)
Year: 2007
A TransAVIAexport Airlines Ilyushin Il-76 airplane with 11 Belarusian, on 23 March 2007, crashed in outskirts of Mogadishu, Somalia, after being shot down during the 2007 Battle of Mogadishu.
Balad Aircraft Crash (Iraq)
Year: 2007
On 9 January 2007, an Antonov An-26 with 35 passengers on board was shot down while attempting a landing at Balad Air Base in Iraq. Only 1 passenger survived the crash.
Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 (Russia)
Year: 2001
On 4 October 2001, Siberian Airlines Flight 1812, a Tupolev Tu-154 carrying 66 passengers and 12 crew, was shot by a S-200 surface-to-air missile, fired from the Crimea peninsula during a Ukrainian military exercise, over the Black Sea en route from Tel Aviv, Israel to Novosibirsk, Russia. No survivor was recorded.
Lionair Flight 602 (Indonesia)
Year: 1998
On 29 September 1998, a Lionair Flight 602, operated by an Antonov An-24RV with 7 crew and 48 passengers on board , crashed into the sea off the north-western coast of Sri Lanka after being shot down by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels, leaving no survivor.
