Footage appears to show missile hitting Ukraine passenger plane: NYT

Footage released by The New York Times appears to show the moment a Ukraine-bound passenger plane was shot down in Iranian airspace shortly after departing from an airport in Tehran earlier this week.

The 19-second clip, which the Times released on Thursday, reportedly shows the plane being hit by a missile and what appears to be mid-air explosion shortly after. The plane continues to fly through the air for a short while before attempting to return to the airport and crashing.

The report comes days after 176 people aboard a Boeing 737-800 headed for Ukraine died in a crash. The incident had came just hours after Iran fired missiles at two bases housing U.S. forces in Iraq.

The attack on the bases marked an escalation in ongoing tensions between the U.S. and Iran after President Trump directed an airstrike that killed a top Iranian general, Qassem Soleimani, the week before. Trump has said the operation was an effort by the U.S. “to stop a war” and that there was evidence that the general had been plotting attacks against Americans. 

Immediately after the crash, reports said technical issues with the flight brought the plane down. However, U.S. officials said on Thursday that they believe Iran shot down the plane by mistake, according to multiple reports.

On Thursday, President Trump also suggested that “somebody could’ve made a mistake.”

“It’s a tragic thing when I see that. It’s a tragic thing. But somebody could’ve made a mistake on the other side,” Trump said, adding: “It was flying at a pretty rough neighborhood, and somebody could’ve made a mistake.”