Iran: Ukrainian airliner was shot down due to air defense system misconfiguration
The air defense system, which shot down the plane of Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) in Iran, had wrong settings, because previously it was relocated, said Iranian Civil Aviation Organization, as quoted by TASS.
"One of Tehran's air defense systems was relocated. This led to a change in its geographical location and direction," the statement reads.
It is noted that due to the misconfiguration, the airliner was mistakenly identified by the system as an object moving towards Tehran. However, the UIA plane took off from the capital of Iran, not the other way around.
Earlier, the Iranian military claimed that the UIA plane was shot down accidentally as a result of human error.
In June, the Iranian authorities stated that their investigation into the cause of the crash of the Boeing 737-800 UIA was almost complete. Six people were detained in connection with the downing of the Ukrainian plane.
A Ukraine International Airlines plane making a regular flight from Tehran to Kyiv crashed in Iran on the morning of January 8. 176 people from seven countries were killed, including 11 Ukrainians (nine crew members and two passengers).
Three days after the catastrophe, Iran admitted that it had inadvertently shot down the plane using a cruise missile. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has taken responsibility for the incident.