The widow of the captain of a Ukrainian passenger jet shot down in Iran has said she urged him not to fly the plane amid fears of war in the country.

Katerina Gaponenko said husband Volodymyr had thought his return fight from Kiev to Tehran would be cancelled as tensions in the region mounted following the US assassination of Qassem Soleimani.

But when it was scheduled to go ahead the father-of-two, who flew for Ukrainian International Airlines (UIA), told his wife he had to do it.

“I asked him: ‘Do not fly, do not do it.’ But he said: ‘We can’t backtrack, if it is not me, there is no one else. If it flies on schedule, I need to fly.’ I asked him to stay,” she told Sky News.

The captain – who had 11,000 hours flight experience – took the Boeing 737 into Iran on 7 January and was bringing it back the following day when it was shot out of the sky.

All 176 passengers and crew on board – the majority Iranians, Canadians and Ukrainians – died instantly.

Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Show all 18 1 /18 Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran People stand near the wreckage after a Ukrainian plane carrying 176 passengers crashed near Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran ISNA/AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran People and rescue teams are pictured amid bodies and debris All 176 people on board a Ukrainian passenger plane were killed when it crashed shortly after taking off, Iranian state media reported ISNA/AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran One of the engines State news agency IRNA said 167 passengers and nine crew members were on board the aircraft operated by Ukraine International Airlines Iran Press via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Rescue teams work at the scene AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Passengers' belongings West Asia News Agency via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Members of the International Red Crescent collect bodies of victims EPA Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Rescue teams work amidst debris AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran A relative of a victim reacts at Boryspil International Airport, outside Kiev Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Rescue workers search the scene where a Ukrainian plane crashed in Shahedshahr, southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. A Ukrainian airplane with more than 170 people crashed on Wednesday shortly after takeoff from Tehran's main airport, killing all onboard. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) Ebrahim Noroozi AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran TOPSHOT - People and rescue teams are pictured amid the wreckage after a Ukrainian plane carrying 176 passengers crashed near Imam Khomeini airport in the Iranian capital Tehran early in the morning on January 8, 2020, killing everyone on board. - The Boeing 737 had left Tehran's international airport bound for Kiev, semi-official news agency ISNA said, adding that 10 ambulances were sent to the crash site. (Photo by Rouhollah VAHDATI / ISNA / AFP) (Photo by ROUHOLLAH VAHDATI/ISNA/AFP via Getty Images) ROUHOLLAH VAHDATI ISNA/AFP via Getty Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Rescue workers carry the body of a victim of an Ukrainian plane crash in Shahedshahr, southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. A Ukrainian airplane carrying 176 people crashed on Wednesday shortly after takeoff from Tehran's main airport, killing all onboard. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) Ebrahim Noroozi AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Part of the wreckage Iran Press via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Debris of a plane belonging to Ukraine International Airlines, that crashed after taking off from Iran's Imam Khomeini airport, is seen on the outskirts of Tehran, Iran January 8, 2020. Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY WANA NEWS AGENCY West Asia News Agency via Reuters Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Rescue workers search the scene where an Ukrainian plane crashed in Shahedshahr, southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. A Ukrainian airplane carrying 176 people crashed on Wednesday shortly after takeoff from Tehran's main airport, killing all onboard. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) Ebrahim Noroozi AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Rescue team work at the scene where an Ukrainian plane crashed in Shahedshahr, southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. A Ukrainian airplane carrying 176 people crashed on Wednesday shortly after takeoff from Tehran's main airport, killing all onboard. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) Ebrahim Noroozi AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran CORRECTS YEAR - Debris is seen from a plane crash on the outskirts of Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. A Ukrainian airplane carrying at least 170 people crashed on Wednesday shortly after takeoff from Tehranâ€™s main airport, killing all onboard, state TV reported. (AP Photos/Mohammad Nasiri) Mohammad Nasiri AP Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Officials inspect the wreckage EPA Iran plane crash: Ukraine Boeing 737 comes down near Tehran Debris is seen from an Ukrainian plane which crashed as rescue workers search the scene in Shahedshahr, southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. A Ukrainian airplane carrying 176 people crashed on Wednesday shortly after takeoff from Tehran's main airport, killing all onboard. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) Ebrahim Noroozi AP

Iran has now said it shot the plane down accidentally. The plane crash came several hours after the country had launched missile attacks on American air bases in neighbouring Iraq.

Brig-Gen Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the Revolutionary Guards aerospace commander, has since said the force took “full responsibility” for the tragedy.

But Ms Gaponenko said she did not understand why the Ukrainian authorities had allowed the flight – PS752 – to take place given the deteriorating security situation.

She said: “This flight was planned in early December when there was nothing to be concerned about in Tehran.

“But just before they flew, some hostilities started. We knew about America, about Iraq, we knew that there was no safety but we could not believe that the flight was not cancelled. It is a number one question. I am not interested in who is to blame. I am interested in why they [the authorities] allow this flight to continue. It was a suicide mission.”

The widow spoke as she visited a makeshift shrine at Kyiv Boryspil International Airport for her husband and 10 other Ukrainians – mainly crew – who were also killed in the crash.

The widow said the tragedy was worst for the couple’s daughters, aged 11 and six.

“They don’t understand why it happened,” she said. “They don’t understand what is waiting for them in the future. They are waiting for their dad. They still have hope that he will come back.”

UIA vice president in charge of operations Ihor Sosnovsky said that Iranian authorities should have closed the airport.