Canadian and US officials believe Iranian military forces, possibly by mistake, shot down the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 that crashed outside Tehran on 8 January, killing 176 people. “The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile,” Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau tells reporters on 9 January. Canada reached that conclusion, which Iran has denied, after reviewing “intelligence from multiple sources, including our allies and our own intelligence.” The crash of Ukraine flight PS752 came in the tense hours after Iran launched missile strikes against US-occupied bases in Iraq, a response to the US military’s killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. Trudeau adds that Iran’s actions may have been “unintentional” or “accidental”, but stresses that officials remain uncertain about circumstances surrounding the alleged missile strike. Canada’s assessment aligns with that of US officials, who told news outlets on 9 January that a surface-to-air missile downed the 737. US officials said heat signatures from two surface-to-air missiles had been detected immediately prior to an explosion near where the aircraft was flying, according to reports. Trudeau says the conclusion that Iranian military forces downed the aircraft “reconfirms the need for a thorough investigation” into the crash. Canadian foreign minister Francois-Philippe Champagne has already told his Iranian counterpart that “Canadian officials must immediately be granted access to Iran, to be granted consular services, to identify victims and participate in a thorough investigation”, Trudeau says. He says Iran has expressed “an openness to Canadian involvement in the investigation from the beginning”. But Trudeau provides no confirmation of Canada’s involvement, and Iran has said it intends to keep the aircraft’s cockpit voice and flight data recorders within its borders. The aircraft took off from Tehran at 06:13 local time on 8 January and climbed westward to 8,000ft before disappearing from radar, Iran has said. Purported video of the crash shows a fiery object, breaking apart and falling from the sky. Ali Abedzadeh, head of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organisation, said it is “scientifically impossible” that a missile downed the aircraft, noting close cooperation between Iran’s civil and military sectors. Prime minister Trudeau says he has spoken to Netherlands prime minister Mark Rutte about the Netherlands’ experience investigating the crash of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 in 2014. Dutch investigators determined a Russian missile downed that aircraft, a 777-200. On Thursday, some European airlines decided to aviod Iran airspace altogether as a precautionary measure. Lufthansa’s daily direct flight from Frankfurt to Teheran, LH600, was turned around over Romaina and is currently returning to Germany. Austrian Airlines flight OS871 from Vienna to Teheran landed in Sofia, according to flight tracking website Flightradar24.

Source: Cirium

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has designated a representative to participate in the Iran-led investigation into the 8 January crash of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752. In a media release, the NTSB says it has received “formal notification” of the crash from Iran’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Board, part of the country’s Civil Aviation Organisation. “Under ICAO Annex 13, the NTSB has designated an accredited representative to the investigation of the crash,” the NTSB says. The NTSB’s level of participation remains unknown. The agency did not respond to a request for more information, and its media release directs questions to Iran’s officials. ICAO guidelines call for the country in which an accident occurs to lead the investigation, or pass them to another country. The guidelines also call for officials from the country in which the crashed aircraft’s manufacturer is based to be involved. News of the NTSB’s involvement came the day US and Canadian officials said they have intelligence indicating an Iranian surface-to-air missile downed the aircraft, a Boeing 737-800. Iran has denied that a missile caused the crash, which killed 176 people. The aircraft went down in the hours after Iran fired missiles at US-occupied bases in Iraq.

Source: Cirium

Flight recorders from the crashed Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 in Tehran have been retrieved, with their memory units, although both have signs of physical damage. But there are no firm indications as to the circumstances of the 8 January event, including whether it might have been the result of hostile action or sabotage. The Iranian Civil Aviation Organisation says both the flight-data and cockpit-voice recorders were recovered from the wreckage of the jet after it came down shortly after take-off from Tehran Imam Khomeini airport. It states that the aircraft initially climbed to 8,000ft before radar contact was lost and the jet struck the ground. Ukraine International Airlines concurs with this figure, putting the altitude at about 2,400m (7,900ft). “No radio transmissions from the pilot were received regarding unusual circumstances,” says the Civil Aviation Organisation’s chief, Ali Abedzadeh. The aircraft’s trajectory was initially westwards, he says, but the jet started to turn right as the problem emerged, and appears to have been heading back to the airport. Abedzadeh says that preliminary information – from eyewitnesses on the ground at crews at altitude – indicate the aircraft was on fire, before its impact with terrain and subsequent explosion. The initial ground impact was in the vicinity of an amusement park, he says. Officials in Ukraine and the USA have been notified along with governments in Sweden and Canada. Ukraine has been formally invited to participate in the accident inquiry. Abedzadeh says 146 of the 167 passengers and nine crew members held Iranian passports. He says the aircraft left the stand at 05:45 before its take-off at 06:13, and was initially cleared to Mehrabad control which cleared it to climb to 26,000ft. Contact was lost at 06:18 and the aircraft came down near the province of Saba Shahr. No conclusions have been released on the circumstances of the crash. The aircraft was less than four years old, and powered by CFM International CFM56 engines. Preliminary weather data from Tehran indicates no adverse conditions at the time. Ukraine International Airlines says the captain had logged 11,600h on 737s including 5,500 in command, while the first officer had 7,600h on type. The flight crew was augmented by an instructor pilot with 12,000h on 737s including 6,600h as captain. It adds that Tehran is not a “simple” airport and that the carrier has, for several years, used Imam Khomeini as a training location for 737 crews to check pilot proficiency. ”Given the crew’s experience, error probability is minimal,” the airline claims. “We do not even consider such a chance.”

Source: Cirium