Iran’s Civil Aviation Organisation has released the most detailed report to date on the shooting down of a Ukrainian passenger jet by the country’s military in January, blaming human error and a mistake in aligning a radar system for the tragedy in which all 176 passengers and crew died.
The Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800, flight PS 752, was bound for Kyiv and “following a normal path” on January 8 when it crashed moments after take-off from Tehran, according to the report released at the weekend.
The tragedy happened hours after Iranian missile strikes on US forces based in neighbouring Iraq, in retaliation for the death of Qassem Soleimani, a senior commander in Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, in a US drone strike days earlier.