U.S. Officials Believe Iran Shot Down Civilian Airliner by Mistake
U.S. officials are reportedly “confident” that Iran shot down a civilian airliner on the same day it struck U.S. forces in Iraq. The Ukrainian International Airlines flight crashed moments after takeoff from the Iranian capital of Tehran, killing all 176 people on board. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that intelligence indicates the airplane, with 63 Canadians on board, was “shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile.” Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 took off from Tehran International Airport at 6:12 a.m. local time, several hours after Iranian ballistic missiles rained down on U.S. bases in nearby Iraq. The Boeing 737-800, bound for Kiev, climbed to an altitude just over 7,900 feet and 310 miles an hour before it came crashing back to earth, exploding in a huge fireball. The pilot reportedly never declared an emergency and was not in contact with the air traffic control tower. • U.S. officials expressed confidence today that Iranian forces shot down a ...