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VISUAL INVESTIGATIONS

Video Shows Ukrainian Plane Being Hit Over Iran

The New York Times has obtained video of the moment a Ukrainian airliner was hit minutes after takeoff from Tehran.

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The New York Times has obtained and verified video showing the moment a Ukrainian airliner was hit in Iran.CreditCredit...Screenshot from video

Video verified by The New York Times appears to show an Iranian missile hitting a plane near Tehran’s airport, the area where a Ukrainian jet crashed on Wednesday, killing all 176 people on board.

As investigators work to determine an official cause of the accident, the video offered new clues about the crash, which came hours after a violent confrontation between Iran and the United States. American and allied officials on Thursday said they believed an Iranian missile had accidentally brought the plane down.

A small explosion occurred when what appears to be a missile hit the plane above Parand, a city near the airport, but the plane did not explode, the video showed. The jet continued flying for several minutes and turned back toward the airport, The Times has determined. The plane, which by then had stopped transmitting its signal, flew toward the airport ablaze before it exploded and crashed quickly, other videos verified by The Times showed.

TEHRAN

4 Video from this area showed the plane

heading in the direction of the airport

before it crashed.

3 Video from this area appeared

to show the plane being hit.

Site of crash

2 The last signal was received

two minutes after takeoff.

1 Flight 752 departed

at 6:12 a.m.

Imam Khomeini

International Airport

N

TEHRAN

4 Video from this area showed the plane

heading in the direction of the airport

before it crashed.

3 Video from this area

appeared to show the plane

being hit.

Site of crash

2 The last signal was received

two minutes after takeoff.

N

1 Flight 752 departed

at 6:12 a.m.

4 Video showed

plane heading toward

airport before crash.

TEHRAN

3 Video appeared

to show plane

being hit.

Site of crash

2 Last signal received.

1 Flight took off

at 6:12 a.m.

N

Sources: Flightradar24, OpenStreetMap, Google | Note: Times are in local time.

By Lauren Leatherby and Anjali Singhvi

Visual and sonic clues in the footage also matched flight path information and satellite imagery of the area near where the plane crashed. The satellite images were taken on Thursday and provided to The Times by Maxar Technologies, a space technology company.

In the video, approximately 10 seconds pass between the flash of impact of what is believed to be a missile and the sound of the explosion reaching the camera. The sound delay indicates the plane was a little over two miles from the camera at the time of impact. That distance lines up with the path of the Ukraine International Airlines flight, as recorded by the flight tracking company FlightRadar24.

Buildings

Buildings

By The New York Times | Source: Screenshots from video provided by Nariman Gharib; satellite image by Maxar Technologies.

Other details in the video help verify its authenticity. Buildings seen in the background are at least five stories high and have a distinctive design. Several rows of evenly spaced buildings are visible, consistent with the aerial view of the building compound in satellite imagery.

Small

building

Small

building

By The New York Times | Source: Screenshots from video provided by Nariman Gharib; satellite image by Maxar Technologies.

The small building seen to the left of the video, and the upright metal frame beside it, can both be seen in satellite pictures.

Equipment

Equipment

By The New York Times | Source: Screenshots from video provided by Nariman Gharib; satellite image by Maxar Technologies.

This equipment is seen briefly at the end of the video. It’s positioned less than 10 yards from the small building, and can also be seen in satellite imagery of the site.

Anjali Singhvi contributed reporting.

Christiaan Triebert is a journalist on the Visual Investigations team, which combines traditional reporting with advanced digital forensics. More about Christiaan Triebert

Malachy Browne is a senior story producer on the Visual Investigations team at The New York Times. He was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2020 for international reporting for coverage of Russian culpability in crimes around the world, including the bombing of hospitals in Syria. More about Malachy Browne

Ainara Tiefenthäler is a video journalist. She covers breaking news, Europe, political extremism, and L.G.B.T. and women's issues. She joined The Times in 2015. More about Ainara Tiefenthäler

Sarah Kerr is a video journalist covering U.S. politics and breaking news. More about Sarah Kerr

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