Page 2 - ARUBA TODAY

A2 UP FRONT
Friday 10 January 2020
Continued from Front report and flight-tracking
The crash came just a few data.
hours after Iran launched a Then something went
ballistic attack against Iraqi wrong, though "no radio
military bases housing U.S. messages were received
troops amid a confronta- from the pilot regarding un-
tion with Washington over usual situations," the report
the U.S. drone strike that said. In emergencies, pilots
killed an Iranian Revolution- reach out to air-traffic con-
ary Guard general. Four trollers to warn them and to
U.S. officials, speaking on clear the runway for their
the condition of anonym- arrival, though their first pri-
ity to discuss sensitive intel- ority is to keep the aircraft
ligence, said they had no flying.
certain knowledge of Ira- Eyewitnesses, including the
nian intent and the airliner crew of another flight pass-
could have been mistaken ing above, described see-
for a threat. ing the plane engulfed in
Canadian Prime Minis- flames before crashing at
ter Justin Trudeau, whose 6:18 a.m., the report said.
country lost at least 63 citi- The crash caused a mas-
zens in the downing, said sive explosion when the
in a Thursday press confer- plane hit the ground, likely
ence in Toronto: "We have In this handout photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President because the aircraft had
Volodymyr Zelenskiy lays flowers at a memorial of the flight crew members of the Ukrainian 737-
intelligence from multiple 800 plane that crashed on the outskirts of Tehran, at Borispil international airport outside in Kyiv, been fully loaded with fuel
sources including our allies Ukraine, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020. for the flight to Kyiv, Ukraine.
and our own intelligence. Associated Press The report also confirmed
The evidence indicates that both of the "black box-
that the plane was shot made a mistake on the knowledged the existence ing to turn back for the es" that contain data and
down by an Iranian sur- other side." Trump said, not- of satellites and other sen- airport when the burning cockpit communications
face-to-air missile,." ing the plane was flying in sors in the region, as well as plane went down. Ukraine, from the plane had been
Earlier Thursday, President a "pretty rough neighbor- the likelihood of commu- meanwhile, said it consid- recovered, though they
Donald Trump suggested hood." nication interceptions and ered a missile strike as one sustained damage and
he believed Iran was re- "Some people say it was other similar intelligence. of several possible theories some parts of their memory
sponsible for the shoot- mechanical," Trump add- Two additional U.S. officials for the crash, despite Iran's was lost.
down but wouldn't directly ed. "I personally don't think said the intelligence point- early denials. Hours before the plane
blame the Iranians. He dis- that's even a question." ing to likely Iranian responsi- The Iranian report suggests crash the U.S. Federal Avia-
missed Iran's initial claim The U.S. officials wouldn't bility became clearer over- that a sudden emergency tion Administration had is-
that it was a mechanical say what intelligence they night into Thursday. struck the Boeing 737 oper- sued an emergency flight
issue. had that pointed to an It was not immediately ated by Ukrainian Interna- restriction barring U.S. car-
"Somebody could have Iranian missile. But they ac- clear how the U.S. and its tional Airlines late Tuesday, riers and pilots from flying
allies would react to the when it crashed, just min- over areas of Iraqi, Iranian
downing of the airliner. At utes after taking off from and some Persian Gulf air-
least 63 Canadians and 11 Imam Khomeini Interna- space warning of the "po-
Ukrainians were among the tional Airport in Tehran. tential for miscalculation or
dead. Investigators from Iran's misidentification" for civilian
Despite efforts by Wash- Civil Aviation Organization aircraft due to heightened
ington and Tehran to step offered no immediate ex- political and military ten-
back from the brink of pos- planation for the disaster, sions.
sible war, the region re- however. Iranian officials Oleksiy Danilov, secretary
mained on edge after the initially blamed a techni- of Ukraine's Security Coun-
killing of the Iranian general cal malfunction for the cil, told Ukrainian media
and Iran's retaliatory missile crash, something backed that officials had several
strikes. U.S. troops were on by Ukrainian officials be- working theories regarding
high-alert. fore they said they wouldn't the crash, including a mis-
The latest assessment speculate amid an ongo- sile strike.
comes just a day after De- ing investigation. "A strike by a missile, pos-
fense Secretary Mark Esper Before the U.S. assessment, sibly a Tor missile system, is
and Army Gen. Mark Mil- Iran's state-run IRNA news among the main (theories),
ley, chairman of the Joint agency quoted Hasan as information has surfaced
Chiefs of Staff, said they Rezaeifa, the head of the on the internet about ele-
hadn't had a chance to of civil aviation accident ments of a missile being
review the intelligence on investigation commission, found near the site of the
the incident. Both spent claiming that "the topics crash," Danilov said. He did
much of the day at the of rocket, missile or anti- not elaborate on where he
White House and on Capi- aircraft system is ruled out." saw the information on the
tol Hill briefing the admin- The Ukrainian Internation- internet.
istration on on the killing of al Airlines took off at 6:12 Ukrainian investigators that
Soleimani and the resulting a.m. Wednesday, Tehran arrived in Iran earlier on
attacks by Iran. time, after nearly an hour's Thursday currently await
A preliminary Iranian in- delay at Tehran's Imam permission from Iranian
vestigative report released Khomeini Airport, the main authorities to examine the
Thursday said that the air- airport for travelers in Iran. crash site and look for mis-
liner pilots never made It gained altitude heading sile fragments, Danilov said.
a radio call for help and west, reaching nearly 8,000 The Tor is a Russian-made
that the aircraft was try- feet, according to both the missile system. q