A Ukrainian passenger jet that crashed Wednesday killing 176 people on board was attempting to return to the Iranian airport after experiencing a problem, Iranian officials said.
Ukraine Airlines Flight PS752 crashed minutes after taking off from Khomeini International Airport, about 35 miles southwest of Tehran, killing all on board.
The Iranian Civil Aviation Organization said in a report on its preliminary investigation into the crash published Thursday on its website that the plane was on fire when it attempted to reroute back to the airport.
"The aircraft, which was initially heading westward from the airport boundary, circulated to the right following a problem and was on its way back to the airport at the time of the crash," said Ali Abedzadeh, head of the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization, in a statement. "According to eyewitness reports (people on the ground and high altitude flight crew who observed and reported the incident), a fire was observed in the aircraft."
Abedzadeh said the Boeing 737-800 jet first climbed to an altitude of 8,000 feet before disappearing from radar and despite observations of a fire on board, no messages were received concerning the situation from the pilot.
Black boxes containing the flight and cockpit voice recorder were recovered and handed over to investigators. Both have sustained damage due to the impact of the crash and fire but their memory is intact, he said.
Earlier, Abedzadeh said they would not give the boxes to U.S.-based Boeing and Iran would investigate the crash.
The revelation follows Ukraine International Airlines dismissing the possibility that the crash was the result of crew error.
"Given the crew's experience, error probability is minimal. We do not even consider such a chance," said UIA Vice President Operations Ihor Sosnovsky in a statement while releasing the names of the pilots and their hours of experience on a Boeing 737, which ranged from 7,600-12,000 hours.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an address that the priority for Ukraine is to identify the cause of the crash.
"We will surely find out the truth," he said. "For this purpose, a thorough and independent investigation will be conducted in accordance with international law."
Forty-five specialists have arrived in Iran to participate in the investigation that is to be lead by the ICAO, and more can be dispatched if needed, he said.
"We expect that they will all be included in the work of the commission, in particular, the decoding of the black box records," he said.
Boeing -- which has been reeling since two 737 Max 8 planes crashed in a span of months last year killing nearly 350 people -- said in a statement that it is "ready to assist in any way needed."
Among the 176 victims of Wednesday's crash were 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans and three Britons.
Ukraine has declared Thursday a day of mourning.
The crash comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and the United States. Last week, President Donald Trump directed the military to kill Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in an airstrike. Tehran retaliated by firing at least a dozen missiles at Iraqi bases where U.S. forces are stationed.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
