Doomed aircraft had been trying for Teheran return

Iranian authorities said a Ukrainian aircraft that crashed outside Teheran with the loss of all 176 people on board had turned back to the airport it had just left.

That was revealed yesterday as investigators moved on determining the cause of Wednesday's crash, which came shortly after Teheran launched missiles at US troops in Iraq in response to the killing of a top Iranian general in Baghdad.

But there was no indication foul play caused the Ukraine International Airlines' Boeing 737 to go down.

"The plane, which was initially headed west to leave the airport zone, turned right following a problem and was headed back to the airport," the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization said. "The plane disappeared from radar screens [at] 8,000 feet. The pilot sent no radio message about unusual circumstances. According to eyewitnesses, a fire was seen on board."

Eighty-two Iranians, 63 Canadians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans and three Britons were on board plus 11 Ukrainians, including nine crew.