Iran says engine fire brought down Boeing 737, killing 176

A Boeing Co. 737-800 jetliner bound for Ukraine that crashed after takeoff in Iran, killing everyone on board, was most likely brought down by an engine fire, according to Tehran authorities.

Ukraine International Airlines said 167 passengers and nine crew were on the plane, an older version of the 737 that predates Boeing’s grounded Max model, which crashed at 6:18 a.m. Wednesday in Sabashahr, near the Iranian capital.

Iran’s Disaster Mitigation and Management Organization said early assessments indicate the cause was a technical issue; the transport ministry suggested an engine fire was to blame. The comments came as speculation swirled that the jet may have been downed by a stray missile following Iranian strikes against U.S. bases in Iraq, or in a terrorist attack.

Another state-run outlet cited an official from the Iran Civil Aviation Organization as saying the pilots didn’t declare an emergency, while an amateur video purportedly of the stricken plane showed a bright image descending steeply before hitting the ground.

Other authorities didn’t follow Iran in pointing to a fire or technical issue. The Ukrainian embassy in Tehran amended an earlier statement in which it had ruled out terrorism, instead making no comment on possible causes.

Television footage showed recovery efforts at the crash sight, with debris from the plane spread across a charred field. Ukraine’s foreign ministry said about half those on board held Iranian citizenship and that there more than 60 Canadian citizens, as well as Swedes, Afghans, Britons and Ukrainians.

Ukraine International Vice President Ihor Sosnovskyi said in Kyiv that the plane, delivered to the airline new in 2016, was in good condition and had its last shop visit on Jan. 6. He said the crew was also very experienced and that there were no indications of human error, while declining to comment on possible reasons for the crash, the company’s first since it was set up in 1992.

The tragedy comes at a tense time for both Iran and Boeing.

The Islamic republic has fired more than a dozen missiles at U.S.-Iraqi airbases in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s top general, Qassem Soleimani. Just prior to the crash, U.S. aviation regulators issued new restrictions barring civilian flights over Iraq and Iran. Iran’s civil aviation organization also suggested it may not seek U.S. help in decoding flight recorders recovered from the scene, according to the semi-official Mehr news agency.

Boeing Crisis

Boeing is still gripped by its worst-ever crisis after two deadly crashes led to the grounding of the best-selling 737 Max in March. The company said in a statement that its thoughts are with crew, passengers and their families after the tragedy, without commenting on the cause. The planemaker’s stock was 2.1% lower in pre-market trading.

Earlier, U.S. stock-index futures fell and the yen rose, though those moves faded after reports that the crash was due to a technical issue.

Under established protocols, Iran would lead any investigation because the crash occurred on its soil. Ukraine Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk said his government has informed Iran that its experts should take part.

Few nations have the expertise and technical facilities to conduct a full accident probe, however, so the U.S., France, Britain or other countries have provided assistance in the past. The plane’s crash-proof recorders will have to be downloaded in a specialist lab. France’s BEA hasn’t been contacted for assistance but has helped Iran in the past, said a spokesman, Sebastien Barthe.

International rules for air-crash probes mean the countries that made the plane and its engines usually participate, providing technical expertise. But the current turmoil between Iran and the U.S. may complicate the involvement of the National Transportation Safety Board and Boeing.

The website flightradar24 showed the 737-800 jet left Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport for Ukraine’s Boryspil International Airport early Wednesday morning local time.

Boeing Jet That Crashed in Iran Was Predecessor to 737 Max

Safran SA confirmed that the twin-engine plane was powered by turbines from its CFM venture with General Electric Co., while declining to comment further.

The jet lifted off and climbed to about 7,900 feet and was traveling at roughly 300 miles an hour when it stopped transmitting its position and disappeared, according to data supplied by FlightRadar24. Other aircraft operating out of Tehran were tracked normally, said FlightRadar24 spokesman Ian Petchenik.

Boeing is still struggling with the fallout from the Max crashes in Indonesia in October 2018 and Ethiopia last March as regulators mull proposed fixes for flaws discovered in the plane’s flight-control system. The 737-800 doesn’t have that system.