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What was known about Flight 752 on 9 January 2020
Summary
A look back at the day Western officials pointed to an Iranian missile while Tehran blamed mechanical failure.
What did the world know about the crash of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 on 9 January 2020, a day after it came down near Tehran? Already there were two competing accounts.
The flight was a scheduled service from Tehran to Kyiv, flown by a Boeing 737-800. All 176 people on board were killed. On 9 January 2020, U.S., Canadian, British and Iraqi officials said they believed the plane was likely brought down accidentally by an Iranian anti-aircraft missile. Iran, for its part, attributed the crash to "mechanical failure".
A video emerges
The same day, The New York Times released a verified video obtained from an Iranian citizen. It showed the aircraft being struck by what appeared to be a surface-to-air missile. The footage added visual material to the assessments the Western and Iraqi officials had voiced.
Canada's cautious line
At a news conference, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it was too early to draw definitive conclusions that the downing of the plane was an act of war. He also condemned Iran's attack on U.S. bases in Iraq.
What came later
Later accounts established that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps shot the aircraft down shortly after takeoff on 8 January 2020. That was not the position of Iran on 9 January 2020, when the explanation offered by Tehran remained mechanical failure.
