What we know so far about Boeing plane that crashed in Iran
On Wednesday morning, a Ukraine International Airlines flight carrying 167 passengers and nine crew en route to Kyiv crashed minutes after takeoff from Tehran’s main airport. Here’s what we know so far about the aircraft.
What do we know about the flight?
The flight number was PS752.
It was scheduled to take off from Imam Khomeini International Airport at 5:15 a.m. local time, but was delayed about an hour.
It took off from Tehran at 6:12 a.m., heading west, but never made it above 2,400 metres in the air, according to data from the flight-tracking website FlightRadar24.
It had been expected to arrive in Kyiv about 4 hours and 15 minutes after takeoff.
According to Ukrainian Airlines, 168 people purchased tickets for the flight. That suggests one person did not board the flight.
All passengers were killed, including 63 Canadians.
What model was the plane?
It was an American-made Boeing 737-800, a twin-jet aircraft with a CFM-56 engine.
The original 737 launched in 1965.
As of March 2018, more than 10,000 Boeing 737s had been assembled in Renton, Wash., breaking the Guinness World Record for “highest production large commercial jet,” Boeing says.
The 737-800 — one of the planes billed as “next-generation” 737s — launched in Sept. 5, 1994.
It carries 162 to 189 passengers.
What Canadian airlines fly this plane?
Canadian airlines that fly the 737-800 include:
- Air Transat.
- Flair Airlines.
- Sunwing.
- WestJet.
What do we know about the engine?
The CFM-56 engine is made by CFM International, a partnership between General Electric and Safran Aircraft engines. CFM says it is the main worldwide engine supplier for commercial aviation, with more than 33,000 CFM-56s delivered since 1974. Two versions of the engines power the Boeing 737 next generation family and the Airbus 320 family of planes respectively.
How safe is the Boeing 737-800?
According to aviation expert John Cox, chief executive officer of Washington, D.C.-based Safety Operating Systems, the plane is a “workhorse airplane” that has been in service for many years with a “very, very good safety record.” That’s unlike the Boeing 737 Max, a newer plane that has been grounded after two fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed 346 people within five months in 2018 and 2019.
Cox called the crash in Tehran “very unusual” for 737-800.
Are there any known problems with this kind of plane?
As of November, about 50 737-800 planes around the world had been grounded after being found with cracks between the wings and fuselage. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration had ordered inspections for the defect on all Boeing 737 next generation aircraft with more than 30,000 takeoff and landing cycles.
Has the plane been involved in any crashes?
Yes, this is the seventh fatal crash of a Boeing 737-800 since 2006. There have also been 10 incidents since in which passengers were injured but not killed.
How safe is the airline?
Ukraine Airlines says this is its first crash since it was founded in 1992.
The plane involved in the crash was purchased in 2016 and inspected on Monday of this week.
What about this crash?
According to the plane’s flight data, the plane took off and climbed normally to 3,000 feet. Then it stopped recording data.
Cox says that indicates something probably interrupted the power to the transmitters. Typically, he says, when that happens, a second generator will supply power. That does not appear to have happened in this case. He called it “very unusual.”
Do we know anything about the cause?
Iranian officials said they suspect a mechanical issue brought down the 3½-year-old Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Ukrainian officials initially agreed, but later backed away and declined to offer a cause while the investigation is ongoing.
How is the investigation proceeding?
The two black boxes and the flight data recorder have been recovered, report officials in Iran. However, they say the data will not be handed over to U.S.-based Boeing.
Tensions are high between Iran and the U.S. following a drone strike ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad on Friday. Iran fired missiles at U.S. military bases in Iraq Wednesday morning in response to the killing.
Cox said if the Iranian government is uncomfortable sending the flight data to Boeing, then it should be sent to a third-party investigative agency to read and publish.
“We need answers to make sure that something like this doesn’t occur, and the families of these victims deserve the answers,” he said. “The politics between two governments has no place — no place at all in an accident investigation.”
In the meantime, he said, investigators need to get on-site and download and analyze the data, which will take some time: “The hardest part right now is patience.”