We first learned
that it was a missile
that took down a
Ukrainian airliner over Iran
because of this video showing
the moment of impact.
All 176 people on board
were killed.
To find out what happened
to Flight 752
after it left Tehran airport
on Jan. 8,
we collected flight data,
analyzed witness videos
and images of the
crash site,
to paint the clearest
picture yet
of that disastrous
seven-minute flight.
We’ll walk you through the
evidence, minute by minute,
from the plane’s takeoff
to the moment it crashed.
It’s the early hours
of Wednesday, Jan. 8.
Iran has just launched
ballistic missiles
at U.S. military targets in Iraq
in retaliation for an
American drone strike
that killed Iranian military
leader Qassim Suleimani.
Iranian defenses
are on high alert,
on guard for a possible
U.S. attack.
Four hours later,
at Tehran’s
Imam Khomeini
International Airport,
Flight 752, operated by
Ukraine International Airlines,
is getting ready
for departure.
At 6:12 a.m.,
the plane takes off.
It flies northwest,
and climbs to almost 8,000 feet
in around three minutes,
according to
flight tracker data.
It’s following its
regular route.
Up ahead are several
military sites.
Until now, the plane’s
transponder
has been signaling normally.
But just before
6:15 a.m., it stops.
This is where the
first missile hits the plane.
Footage from a security camera
near one of the military sites
shows the missile launch.
It hits the plane,
and knocks out the transponder.
But the airliner keeps flying.
A security camera,
directly beneath,
shows what happens next.
A second missile launches
30 seconds after the first,
and it explodes, moments later.
A third video
shows the impact.
Let’s watch it again,
and slow it down.
Here is the missile,
and here is the plane.
An Iranian military commander
said a defense system operator
mistook the passenger jet
for a cruise missile.
The plane is now on fire.
We don’t know its precise path
after 6:15 a.m.,
but we do know
that it turns back
in the direction of the airport.
It continues flying for several
minutes, engulfed by flames.
Around 6:19 a.m., a bystander
films the plane
slowly going down.
There appears to be
second explosion
before the jetliner plummets
outside Tehran about 10 miles
from where the
last signal was sent.
A security camera
captures that moment
as the plane crashes toward it.
Here we see the immediate
aftermath of the crash.
As day breaks, another witness
films the smoldering wreckage.
Debris is spread out
over 1,500 feet
along a small park,
orchards and a soccer field,
narrowly missing
a nearby village.
A large section of the plane
looks badly charred.
More jet parts are found here,
and the plane’s tail
and wheels land
over 500 feet away.
It is a gruesome scene.
The passengers’
personal items —
toys, clothes, photo albums —
are scattered around.
After days of denials,
Iran took responsibility
for the crash,
blaming human error
at a moment of
heightened tensions.
