Iran admits it shot down Ukrainian Airlines flight 752, blaming human error – Business Insider

• Iran admitted it shot down Ukrainian Airlines flight 752, saying it was accidental and blaming human error, according to New York Times reporter Farnaz Fassihi.
• “In these circumstances, the plane was accidentally hit by a human error, which unfortunately results in the martyrdom of dear compatriots and the death of a number of foreign national,” according to a statement from Iran.
• The Ukrainian jet crashed on Wednesday morning shortly after taking off from Tehran, Iran, killing all 176 passengers on board.
• Iran initially denied responsibility for the crash despite emerging reports that the aircraft, bound for Kyiv, Ukraine, was on fire before making contact with the ground.
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Iran admitted it shot down Ukrainian Airlines flight 752, saying it was accidental and blaming human error, according to New York Times reporter Farnaz Fassihi.

“In these circumstances, the plane was accidentally hit by a human error, which unfortunately results in the martyrdom of dear compatriots and the death of a number of foreign national,” according to a statement from Iran released late on Friday.

The Ukrainian jet crashed on Wednesday morning shortly after taking off from Tehran, Iran, killing all 176 passengers on board. Iran initially denied responsibility for the crash despite emerging reports that the aircraft, bound for Kyiv, Ukraine, was on fire before making contact with the ground.

US intelligence officials said they believed it was “highly likely” that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, a detail that was seemingly confirmed by the statement from Iran.

The downed Boeing-manufactured jet comes amid rising tensions between the US and Iran, after President Donald Trump authorized the killing of Iranian major-general Qassem Soleimani. The country retaliated soon after by sending a dozen missiles aimed at bases housing US and coalition forces in Iraq, but no casualities emerged from the incident.

This is a developing story. We will update as more details become available.

• Read more:
• How the crash of Ukrainian Flight 752 unfolded, from the plunge that killed 176 people, to allegations it was shot down by an Iranian missile
• The Ukrainian flight that crashed in Iran was ‘highly likely’ shot down by a missile, according to reported US intelligence
• US intelligence reportedly indicates that Iran accidentally shot down the Ukrainian Airlines plane and then realized its mistake