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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Ukraine jet accidentally downed by Iran say Canada, U.S.

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Ukraine jet accidentally downed by Iran say Canada, U.S.
Ukraine jet accidentally downed by Iran say Canada, U.S.

A Ukrainian airliner that crashed shortly after take-off was accidentally shot down by Iran, Canada's prime minister and U.S. officials said on Thursday.

Conway G.

Gittens has the details.

The Ukraine airliner that crashed in Iran on Wednesday, killing all 176 people aboard, was most likely brought down accidentally by Iranian air defenses.

That's according to U.S. officials who told Reuters Thursday - that they have seen satellite data and are now confident the Boeing 737 was shot down by Iranian missiles.

The likely source of the accident was confirmed by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who lost 63 Canadians in the crash.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER JUSTIN TRUDEAU, SAYING: "The news will come as a further shock to the families who are already grieving in the face of this unspeakable tragedy.

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.

This may well have been unintentional." Asked about the crash at the White House - President Trump also suggested the hit was likely unintended.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING: "It had nothing to do with us.

It was flying in a pretty rough neighborhood and somebody could have made a mistake." The head of Iran's civil aviation said it was impossible that a missile hit the Ukrainian airplane and called speculation "illogical." But the crash happened hours after Iran launched missile attacks on U.S.-led forces in Iraq.

An initial report by Iran's civil aviation organization said the plane had experienced an unspecified technical problem and Iranian investigators said the airliner was on fire immediately before it crashed, citing witnesses on the ground.

But skeptics pointed to a few things.

Number one: Ukrainian Airlines, which has clean safety record, said the 3-year old plane had been serviced as recently as Monday.

Furthermore the model of plane: the 737-800NG is the world's most flown plane, has a good safety record and does not have the software feature at the heart of the 737 MAX, which has been grounded for nearly a year following two deadly crashes.

Shares of Boeing - already in the midst of a major crisis - rallied after reports the plane was most likely hit, And that the plane itself was not to blame.

Investigators from numerous countries, including Canada - are eagerly awaiting details from the plane's black boxes - which were recovered but Iran says it will not turn them over to Boeing.

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