Iran Says It Is Willing to Share Jet's Black Boxes, Denies Hostile Act
January 10 2020 - 6:29AM
Dow Jones News
By Aresu Eqbali in Tehran and Rory Jones in Dubai
Iranian investigators said they would be willing to hand over
the so-called black boxes in a Ukrainian airliner crash to another
country for analysis, as Tehran attempted to dispel claims by
Western officials that the Boeing 737-800 was downed by
missiles.
Iran also invited investigators from Boeing Co., the U.S.,
Ukraine, France and Canada to probe the causes of the crash, which
killed all 176 on board.
The Iranian investigation team said Friday it would first seek
to analyze the black boxes, including the flight data recorder and
cockpit voice recorder, in Iran. They could also be assessed in
Russia, Ukraine, France or Canada, four countries that had
expressed a readiness to help, Iranian investigators said.
"If we can do it ourselves, we will," Ali Abedzadeh, head of
Iran's Civil Aviation Organization, said during a press conference
in Tehran. "If not, we will definitely ask for assistance from
other countries."
U.S., Canadian and U.K. officials said Thursday they believe the
Ukraine International Airlines single-aisle jet was downed by a
missile system fired by Iran, possibly by mistake. A U.S. official
said the plane was tracked before it went down by Iranian radar
used to aim missiles and then hit by a Russian-made SA-15
surface-to-air missile system. Hours before the crash, Iran
launched strikes on U.S. troops in Iraq and was on alert for a
possible U.S. retaliation.
Iranian officials have vehemently denied that claim. However, if
proven to be an Iranian mistake, the crash is likely to pose a
further challenge to a leadership already reeling from the targeted
killing of a top general, a stampede at his funeral that left
dozens dead, and months of public protests fueled by economic
hardship.
Mr. Abedzadeh called on Western officials to make public their
findings on the missile strikes via the Montreal-based
International Civil Aviation Organization, the international body
that sets conventions for air-accident investigations. The plane
was aflame as it crashed and attempting to return to Imam Khomeini
International Airport, from where it had minutes earlier taken off,
he said. That indicated it wasn't shot down by a missile, he
added.
Ukraine International Airlines hasn't commented on the claims by
Western officials that the plane was downed by Iran.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on his Facebook page said
Friday that the jet may have been hit by a missile but there is no
confirmation yet. He asked other nations, including the U.S., to
share evidence, and he plans to discuss the investigation with
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo later Friday. Ukraine's prosecutor
general's office on Friday asked Canada to share information and
said it is conducting a criminal inquiry into the crash.
A team of 45 Ukrainian experts and officials is on the ground in
Tehran, working on decoding the black boxes and identifying and
repatriating bodies.
It isn't yet clear how much of a role U.S. investigators will
play. White House sanctions on Iran mean U.S. investigators will
have to seek clearance from Washington to visit the Middle East
state.
The National Transportation Safety Board, the U.S. entity tasked
with transport investigations, said it is continuing to monitor the
situation and evaluate its level of participation in the
investigation. Boeing has started preparing the necessary paperwork
and has been in touch with both the State and Commerce departments,
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
In the normal course of an investigation, some level of
participation would also be expected from the Federal Aviation
Administration, Boeing and General Electric Co., which made the
plane's engines with a French joint-venture partner. Canada, which
lost at least 63 citizens, has vowed to work with international
partners to ensure the crash is thoroughly investigated. Iran said
Friday a 10-member Canadian team was heading to the country to
manage the affair of its citizens killed in the crash.
Write to Rory Jones at rory.jones@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 10, 2020 06:14 ET (11:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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