US-Iran War Has Begun! Iran launches dozens of ballistic missiles!

[PRC]

The airlines IFF may not have been working which caused some likely nervous SAM operators to hit the button, or their missile system was automated and did not get a friend response from the plane.

[Maladict]

Dude.  You know that no one cheer leads more for Ukraine and her people than me.

But a Ukraine-based company does not scream quality and reliability.

Yet, they've never had a plane crash. (and this particular jet was just three years old)

The one time I flew Ukrainian was a mixed bag. The international flight was just like any other airline. The domestic leg was fine too, except for the part where they used duct tape to keep the door closed.

[The Brain]

I've had no problems the times I've flown Ukrainian.

[Josephus]

How did this turn into a discussion about the quality of the airline?

If the plane was shot down, it almost certainly has zero to do with anything the airline or pilots did or did not do. Everything I've heard so far as it that the takeoff was completely routine.

This almost certainly is true.

I don't know about anyone else, but I was surprised initially why a Ukrainian flight out of Tehran would be full of Canadians.  That is all.

It is apparently a fairly cheap way to fly to Iran from Canada  (or from Iran) to Canada.

[DGuller]

The airlines IFF may not have been working which caused some likely nervous SAM operators to hit the button, or their missile system was automated and did not get a friend response from the plane.

Yes, that's what I had in mind.  Some minor errors relating to communication or squawk codes could be the first link in a chain of events leading to disaster. 

[Sheilbh]

So apparently the reason there were so many Canadians on that flight is due to US sanctions on Iran.  Which means a lot of western airlines can not or will not fly into that country, which is why those people were stuck routing through Kiyev on a third-rate Ukrainian airline.

It's their national carrier and it's fairly decent.

Also I don't think it's just sanctions. Kyiv airport is very interesting as they do a lot of connections from all of the Middle East to the rest of Europe (and maybe North America too). So you have loads and loads of Iranians and Arabs and all types of Israelis transferring in Kyiv. It's quite striking.

[DGuller]

Dude.  You know that no one cheer leads more for Ukraine and her people than me.

But a Ukraine-based company does not scream quality and reliability.

Yet, they've never had a plane crash. (and this particular jet was just three years old)

The one time I flew Ukrainian was a mixed bag. The international flight was just like any other airline. The domestic leg was fine too, except for the part where they used duct tape to keep the door closed.

I have a hard time believing that a domestic Ukrainian airline would have access to duct tape.

[Admiral Yi]

It's their national carrier and it's fairly decent.

Also I don't think it's just sanctions. Kyiv airport is very interesting as they do a lot of connections from all of the Middle East to the rest of Europe (and maybe North America too). So you have loads and loads of Iranians and Arabs and all types of Israelis transferring in Kyiv. It's quite striking.

I can imagine some sex trade opportunities around the airport.

[Sheilbh]

When I went to Ukraine I was asked more than once if I was a journalist, which I'm not.

I mentioned this to my Ukrainian friend and he said: "So they probably thought if you're not a journalist, you're a sex tourist"

[The Brain]

What's wrong with being a sexy tourist?

[Tonitrus]

Some tourists are too sexy.

[Barrister]

Iran says it is impossible that a missle brought down the flight.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ukraine-missile-iran-1.5420736

[DGuller]

Iran says it is impossible that a missle brought down the flight.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ukraine-missile-iran-1.5420736

Back to the drawing board, I guess.

[Berkut]

Uggh, there is a video purporting to show a missile hitting the plane. Its dark so it just looks like a speck of light in the dark, but damn, if that is for real....

[Admiral Yi]

Back to the drawing board, I guess.

Golly, and it seemed like such a reasonable explanation too.