A Ukrainian passenger plane crashed after Iran's air defense unit accidentally shot it down because of a faulty threat-detection system. The Independent reported that a preliminary report claimed that the plane crash, which leads to the death of all 176 passengers and crew aboard the Ukrainian passenger plane, happened because of a series of errors made by the Iranian military.
UKRAINIAN PLANE
- Crashed on the 8th of January near Tehran
- Iran blamed mechanical fault within hours of crash
- US shared intelligence of Iranian missiles striking plane
- Iran now says its military shot down the plane accidentally
- 176 people dead, with no survivors pic.twitter.com/N9lxHlAx9Y — The Spectator Index (@spectatorindex) January 11, 2020
However, an anti-aircraft battery, which has recently been moved, tracked down the Ukrainian plane. The Iranian military officers thought that the plane departed from the Baghdad area, where a number of U.S. military bases are located. The plane was mistakenly identified as a U.S. missile heading for central Tehran after the threat-detection system, which has not been calibrated correctly, induced a 107-degree error.
A report from the aviation officials claimed that flight had taken an unusual route, but it was later confirmed that the passenger aircraft flew northwest and away from the Iranian capital, just as planned.
"Such a functional failure initiated a hazard chain, which, of course, could be controlled providing other planned measures are implemented," concluded by the report. The missile accidentally sent by the Iranian air defense hit the aircraft, which caught fire and turned to the right, heading back towards the airport.
