Updated at 11:50 p.m. ET
A Ukraine International Airlines reportedly carrying 180 passengers and crew has crashed near Tehran's Imam Khomenei International Airport, according to Iran's state television, which said all those aboard are dead. Iranian civil aviation officials said the crash is thought to have been caused by mechanical problems.
Flightradar24, a website that tracks commercial aviation in real time, said flight UIA PS752, a Boeing 737-800, "crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran." The website said the jetliner departed at 2:42 a.m. ET and was bound for Kiev.
The plane climbed to 7,350 feet about two minutes after takeoff and then telemetry was lost, according to Flightaware data.
Civil aviation spokesman Reza Jafarzadeh said a team of investigators was dispatched to the crash site on the southwestern outskirts of Tehran.
The crash comes just hours after Iran launched missiles into Iraq to retaliate against a U.S. drone strike last week that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran's Quds Force, in Baghdad. In addition, the crash happened hours after U.S. aviation regulators called for a prohibitionof U.S. aircraft flying in Iraq, Iran or the surrounding area because of concern of retaliatory strikes by Iran.
According to aviation tracking sites, the plane is a 737-800 and was manufactured about three-and-a-half years ago — an earlier generation than the troubled MAX aircraft that has been grounded globally.
This is a developing story. Some things reported by the media will later turn out to be wrong. We will focus on reports from officials and other authorities, credible news outlets and reporters who are at the scene. We will update as the situation develops.
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
