Following the crash of a Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800, shortly after takeoff from Iran on Wednesday, intelligence agencies from around the world have gathered to assess the situation, they have decided that they don’t believe the aircraft was shot down.
Five security sources – three Americans, one European and one Canadian – in contact with Reuters, who asked to not be identified, believe the aircraft suffered from a serious technical problem instead, which matches initial reports from Iranian media at the time of the crash.
“The initial assessment of Western intelligence agencies is that the plane was not brought down by a missile. There is no evidence to suggest that.”
Source in contact with Reuters
A brief inspection of the crash site showed signs that an engine had been overheating. The Boeing 737-800 is powered by two CFM International CFM56 engines.
Ukraine’s embassy in Iran was fast to state that an engine failure caused the crash, but CFM International, which is a joint-venture between General Electric and Safran, says it is too early to say. The embassy has since dropped this initial reference according to Reuters.
Suspicion that the aircraft was shot down came after missiles were launched by Iran earlier that day, in order to attack two United States military bases in Iraq, following the death of Qasem Soleimani.
Photos of the crash site show pieces of the aircraft fuselage and tail with similar holes to the ones identified on the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, that was shot down in 2014 resulting in the deaths of 298 people.
There is imagery showing projectile holes in the fuselage and a wing section. pic.twitter.com/gm0NbVzYsn
— JACDEC (@JacdecNew) January 8, 2020
Despite the holes looking similar to shrapnel damage, it has been dismissed for now; it has been determined that rocks or debris could have caused the punctures. A full crash investigation will determine the cause of the accident.
The Aviation Herald says that Iran’s Accident Investigation Board has dispatched investigators to work on the crash, they have also requested Ukraine to participate in the investigation. Additionally, the United States, Sweden and Canada will also be participating due to the nationalities recorded on board and the origin of the aircraft.
Complicating the investigation was the announcement that the black boxes, recovered from the crash, would not be sent to the United States for analysis by Boeing or the National Transportation Safety Board. It remains unclear where the black boxes will be sent at this time, however Ukraine has been welcomed.
For the initial article reporting the crash, see here:
“Intelligence Agencies…”
I think they need to start looking for a new name to call themselves.
this is fake news and spells the end of sam chui as anything resembling an authority on air travel.
sam needs to sack whatever shill posted this garbage at the same time the rest of the world suspected it was a shoot down, and just 1 day before the iranians themselves admitted it.
At the time of writing the post, Reuters reported intelligence agencies did not believe the aircraft was shot down, as seen here:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-crash-canada-intelligence/western-intelligence-agencies-see-no-signs-ukraine-airliner-was-shot-down-canadian-source-idUSKBN1Z72Q7
Since then, we have posted additional articles as information progresses, including sufficient evidence the aircraft was shot down and now confirming the aircraft was shot down, as stated by Iranian officials. These can be seen here:
https://samchui.com/2020/01/09/update-ukrainian-737-likely-shot-down/#.XhnD68gzaUk
https://samchui.com/2020/01/11/iran-admits-to-shooting-down-ukrainian-boeing-737-800/#.XhnD6MgzaUk
The post you’re commenting about is part of our efforts to cover all aspects of a developing story and in no way reflects any of our beliefs or affiliations.
Fake news
It’s definitely a missle. There is eyewitness footage as well as many news outlets reporting a missle launch.
Justin Trudeau just left a statement, that his government guesses, that the plane was shut down, based on intelligence information!
You may want to check the news Sam.
A source „in contact with Reuters“ is no source as long as those people have no names… Sorry to say so!
Really? Because the Canadian PM just said that evidence indicates a missile.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/champagne-iran-plane-crash-1.5420398
This has got to be one of the worst posts ever. Sam, please get a hold of your content, it’s starting to really stink.
Who are the professionals performing the “brief inspection” of the site? The Iranians? Geez, good luck with that. Everything is pure speculation until true professionals are allowed to see the and examine the black box.
You are either a Russian troll or a US alt-right spreading conspiracy theories.
Either way, doing your job supporting trump’s lies.
Engine failures are not that unusual and are nearly always recoverable. Very rarely (at least in the 21st century) do they cause a perfectly good aircraft to burst into flames while still in flight. Sorry, but I am not buying this explanation.
Not so far from the crash site was found the tail of anti-air missle “Thor-M” that, it would be good, if you’ll publish it here. In my opinion, the AA missle is the most obvious version.