Ukrainian Airliner Crashes Near Tehran, Killing All 176 Aboard

A Boeing 737 belonging to Ukrainian International Airlines crashed shortly after takeoff on Wednesday from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport, with all 167 passengers and nine crew members being killed. The Ukrainian embassy in the city cited initial reports about engine problems but ruled out terrorism. It later retracted the statement, saying only that the causes were being investigated. According to press reports, the aircraft came to earth about six miles from the airport. The crash came with tensions between Iran and the United States sky high over the killing last week of a senior Iranian general. Earlier on Wednesday, Iran launched missiles at US troops in Iraq. The airliner was described as a 737-800NG. Boeing has been addressing issues concerning another model, the 737 MAX, all of which have been grounded since last March after two crashes killed a total of 346 people.