Two Missiles fired at the doomed 737.
New evidence including surveillance video appears to two missiles hitting the Ukrainian passenger jet fired approximately 30 seconds apart.
Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 (PS752) was a scheduled international passenger flight from Tehran to Kiev operated by Ukraine International Airlines (UIA). On 8 January 2020, the Boeing 737-800 operating the route was shot down shortly after takeoff from Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran, which attributed it to human error.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani later described the accident as an “unforgivable mistake”.
Initially, Iranian aviation authorities denied the airplane was hit by a missile and said a technical error was responsible. Ukrainian authorities, after initially deferring to Iran’s explanation, said a shoot-down of the flight was one of their main working theories. American, Canadian, and British officials said they believed the aircraft had been shot down by a Tor-M1 (SA-15 “Gauntlet”) surface-to-air missile launched by Iran.
Three days later, on 11 January, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said they had shot down the aircraft after mistaking it for a US cruise missile.
All 176 passengers and crew were killed; it was the first fatal air accident for Ukraine International Airlines.
According to Ukrainian foreign minister Vadym Prystaiko and a flight manifest released by UIA, out of the 176 passengers’ citizenship, 82 were confirmed to be Iranian, 63 were Canadian, 3 were British, 4 were Afghan, 10 were Swedish, and 3 were German. 11 Ukrainians were also on board, 9 of them being the crew. The German Foreign Ministry denied any Germans were aboard; the three people in question were Afghan nationals who lived in Germany as asylum seekers.
Three days after denial , Iranian authorities admitted that they had mistakenly struck the Ukraine International Airlines flight without mentioning a second missile.
The three day delay in that admission. fueled anger and protests in the streets of Tehran and other Iranian cities against the perceived incompetence and dishonesty by the Iranian leadership.
A U.S. official identified the weapon used as a Russian-made SA-15 surface-to-air missile system, also known as “Gauntlet”.
The Tor missile system (Russian), is an all-weather low to medium altitude, short-range surface-to-air missile system designed for destroying airplanes, helicopters, cruise missiles, precision guided munitions, unmanned aerial vehicles and short-range ballistic threats (anti-munitions). Originally developed by the Soviet Union under the GRAU designation 9K330 Tor, the system is commonly known by its NATO reporting name, SA-15 “Gauntlet”.
References:
Great work Me A
ReplyDelete