The crash came at a tense time in Iran, as conflict with the United States had the country on edge. On Tuesday, the F.A.A. barred American airliners from flying over Iran, citing the risk of commercial planes being mistaken for military aircraft.
The crash could also touch a nerve politically in Ukraine, as the airline operating the flight, Ukraine International Airlines, is partly owned through a network of offshore companies by Ihor Kolomoisky. Mr. Kolomoisky is an oligarch with close ties to President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The airline began in the 1990s as newly independent Ukraine’s state flag carrier but was subsequently privatized. Its website calls the business a “public private entity.” The airline offers five direct flights per week from Tehran to Kyiv.
The airline flies a fleet of 35 Boeings and seven Embraer aircraft, according to its website. It had not previously suffered a fatal crash, according to a list of Ukrainian aircraft accidents compiled by the Flight Safety Foundation.
There was no immediate official statement from the Ukrainian authorities. Officials from the Ukrainian Embassy in Tehran were at the airport Wednesday morning and working to compile a list of the passengers on board, Russia’s state-run RIA Novosti news agency cited an embassy official as saying.
Anton Troianovski and Andrew Kramer reported from Moscow. Farnaz Fassihi contributed reporting from New York.
Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/07/world/middleeast/iran-plane-crash-boeing-ukraine.html
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