US officials: ‘Highly likely’ Iran downed Ukrainian jetliner with 176 onboard

“Somebody could have made a mistake,” Trump told reporters at the White House, adding that he had suspicions about the crash but giving no other details.

According to air tracking service FlightRadar24, the plane that crashed was Flight PS 752 and was flying to Kiev

“Some people say it was mechanical. I personally don’t think that’s even a question,” Trump said, adding that “something very terrible happened.”

One US official said US satellites had detected the launch of two missiles shortly before the plane crashed, followed by evidence of an explosion. Two officials said Washington believed the downing of the plane was accidental.

Ukraine meanwhile outlined four potential scenarios to explain the crash, including a missile strike and terrorism, as Iranian investigators said the plane was on fire before it fell to the ground.

The plane belonging to Ukraine International Airlines crashed minutes after take-off from the Imam Khomeini International Airport. (Twitter/@isna_farsi)

The Ukrainian International Airlines Boeing 737-800, flying to Kiev and carrying mostly Iranians and Iranian-Canadians, crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini airport, killing all 176 people on board. Initial reports said the plane encountered a technical problem shortly after take-off and started to head toward a nearby airport before it crashed.

Tehran had then refused to give the black boxes to planemaker Boeing. The crash came just a few hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack against Iraqi military bases housing US troops amid a confrontation with Washington over the US drone strike that killed Iranian Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani last week.

Numerous airlines said they were avoiding Iranian and Iraqi airspace for flights to the region after Tehran fired ballistic missiles against bases housing US troops in Iraq.

(This is a developing story. Inputs from AP and Reuters)