Ukraine Appreciates Iran Giving Black Boxes of Crashed Plane to France
Ukraine Appreciates Iran Giving Black Boxes of Crashed Plane to France
Ukraine’s President VolodymyrZelensky on Monday said he welcomed Iran’s decision to hand over the black boxes from the crash of a Ukrainian airliner to France.

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Ukraine’s President VolodymyrZelensky on Monday said he welcomed Iran’s decision to hand over the black boxes from the crash of a Ukrainian airliner to France.

Zelensky said that Ukrainian experts would take part in decoding the black boxes, alongside experts from France, the United States, and Canada.

He said those responsible in the plane crash would be held accountable.

Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said in a tweet on Sunday that the boxes were expected to be taken to France’s BEA, Air Accident Investigation Agency – one of the world’s leading agencies for reading flight recorders, adding that Canadian transportation officials would be present.

On January 8, Iran mistakenly shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 shortly after take-off from Tehran’s main airport. All 176 aboard, dozens of whom were Canadian citizens or permanent residents were killed.

Iran later called it a “disastrous mistake” that happened at a time when air defense forces were on high alert in case the US retaliated against Iranian missile strikes hours earlier on American military bases stationed in Iraq.

Those strikes were carried out in response to the assassination of a top Iranian Lt. Gen.QassemSoleimani, in a US drone strike near Baghdad airport on Jan. 3.

Earlier this month, the Civil Aviation Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran said in a report that the misalignment of an air defense unit’s radar system by its operator had been the key “human error” that led to the accidental downing of the Ukrainian plane.

The CAO also said the air defense unit operator had acted “without receiving any response from the Coordination Center” on which he depended.

Reuters, AFP, and Press TV contributed to this story.

  • source : Iran Daily, Irannews