A Ukrainian airplane carrying at least 170 people crashed Wednesday near an airport in the capital, Tehran, state TV reported. There was no immediate word on casualties.
The plane had taken off from Imam Khomeini International Airport, the report said. The crash is suspected to have been caused by mechanical issues, it added, without elaborating.

An investigation team was at the site of the crash in southwestern outskirts of Tehran, civil aviation spokesman Reza Jafarzadeh said.

“After taking off from Imam Khomeini international airport it crashed between Parand and Shahriar," Jafarzadeh said. “An investigation team from the national aviation department was dispatched to the location after the news was announced.”

State TV earlier said there were 180 passengers and crew aboard. The discrepancy could not be immediately reconciled.

Flight data from the airport showed a Ukrainian 737-800 flown by Ukraine International Airlines took off Wednesday morning, then stopped sending data almost immediately afterward, according to website FlightRadar24. The airline did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The crash came hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack targeting two bases in Iraq housing U.S. forces in retaliation for the killing of Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

The Boeing 737-800 is a very common single-aisle, twin-engine jetliner used for short to medium-range flights. Thousands of the planes are used by airlines around the world.Introduced in the late 1990s, it is an older model than the Boeing 737 MAX, which has been grounded for nearly 10 months following two deadly crashes.A number of 737-800 aircraft have been involved in deadly accidents over the years.In March 2016, a Flydubai 737-800 from Dubai crashed while trying to land at Rostov-on-Don airport in Russia, killing 62 onboard. Another 737-800 flight from Dubai, operated by Air India Express, crashed in May 2010 while trying to land in Mangalore, India, killing more than 150 onboard.

na wa ooh. hope it is not Iranian military that brought down the plane

iykmon:
na wa ooh. hope it not iran that brought down the plan

Plane took off from Iran.

I just have a feeling it's their defence system that shot the plane down. Something close to a system malfunction or error.


Cos it went into flames right from the sky.

Iran comes to mind

I initially thought it was a collateral damage but the comment below mine has shed more light on the situation.

The iranians wasn't responsible for this tragedy. It was caused by a simple malfunction that wasn't detected early enough.

If passengers manifest have more Americans onboard then we can conclude the Iranians have started hitting the Americans.