Ukrainian Boeing 737-800 Crashes, 170 Feared Killed

All 170 passengers and crew on board a Ukrainian Airlines Boeing 737-800 aircraft are feared dead when the plane crashed soon after takeoff from Tehran International Airport this morning.

Iran’s Red Crescent has said there was no chance of finding survivors, and Pir Hossein Kulivand, an Iranian emergency official, later told state TV all those on board were killed in the crash.

The Boeing 737-800 of Ukrainian International Airlines took off from Imam Khomeini international airport at 6.12am Tehran time and went down about eight minutes later, according to flight tracking websites.

The 737-800 belongs to the same family as the 737 Max 8 aircraft, which has been grounded since suffering two fatal crashes within six months in Indonesia and Ethiopia. The 737-800 has not been investigated for similar issues as the 737 Max.

The Ukraine International Airlines jet was less than four years old and has never been grounded for technical issues, Ukrainian media reported. Iranian officials ruled out any link between the crash and the current Iran-US military stand-off.

A Boeing statement said it was aware of the incident and was following with concerned airline officials. In a separate statement it said Boeing is recommending 737 MAX simulator training in addition to computer based training for all MAX pilots prior to return to service of the 737 MAX. This recommendation takes into account changes to the airplane and test results. Final determination will be established by the regulators.