Tehran/Montreal: Canadian premier Justin Trudeau vowed to obtain answers after a Ukrainian passenger jet crashed in Iran that killed 176 persons, including 63 Canadians, as Tehran refused to hand over the jet's black box.
The Kiev-bound Ukrainian Boeing 737 passenger plane crashed on Wednesday three minutes after taking off from Tehran airport.
Iran claims the crash, which happened hours after the missile attack on the US base, was caused by engine fire. But, for some inexplicable reason, it is refusing to hand over the jet's black box.
Iran said the engine had caught fire and a video appeared to show the plane already ablaze as it fell from the sky.
The Ukrainian embassy in Iran initially ruled out a missile strike but later backtracked. The plane was less than four years old and had been checked just two days earlier, the Ukrainian airline said.
What is baffling is that despite the fire, the crew did not report an emergency. The crash sent alarm bells ringing in the already volatile region and several airlines have announced they will stop flying over Iranian airspace.
The disaster is another jolt for Boeing which was thrown into tizzy by two plane crashes in October 2018 and March 2019 which killed 346 people.
French jet engine manufacturer CFM said any speculation about a technical failure was 'premature'. Aviation experts tried to find answers with some saying a missile strike was unlikely, while others said it should be the starting assumption.
Contd. on P11: Canadian premier Justin Trudeau vowed to obtain answers after a Ukrainian passenger jet crashed in Iran that killed 176 persons, including 63 Canadians, as Tehran refused to hand over the jet's black box.
The Kiev-bound Ukrainian Boeing 737 passenger plane crashed on Wednesday three minutes after taking off from Tehran airport.
Iran claims the crash, which happened hours after the missile attack on the US base, was caused by engine fire. But, for some inexplicable reason, it is refusing to hand over the jet's black box.
Iran said the engine had caught fire and a video appeared to show the plane already ablaze as it fell from the sky.
The Ukrainian embassy in Iran initially ruled out a missile strike but later backtracked. The plane was less than four years old and had been checked just two days earlier, the Ukrainian airline said.
What is baffling is that despite the fire, the crew did not report an emergency. The crash sent alarm bells ringing in the already volatile region and several airlines have announced they will stop flying over Iranian airspace.
The disaster is another jolt for Boeing which was thrown into tizzy by two plane crashes in October 2018 and March 2019 which killed 346 people. French jet engine manufacturer CFM said any speculation about a technical failure was 'premature'.
Aviation experts tried to find answers with some saying a missile strike was unlikely, while others said it should be the starting assumption.
The pilot made an unsuccessful attempt to control the plane when the fire erupted, Iranian officials claimed. However, the Iran Civil Aviation Organisation head’s response was baffling.
He was quoted as saying: We will not give the black boxes to the manufacturer (Boeing) and the Americans. The accident will be investigated by Iran's aviation organisation and the Ukrainians can also be present, reports Daily Mail.
According to aviation experts, the countries that are capable of analysing black boxes are few -- notably Britain, France, Germany and the United States.
Ukraine International Airlines, the country's biggest airline and privately owned, said it had "decided to suspend its flights to Tehran starting" until further notice.
The airline's representatives insisted the aircraft was fully functional under experienced pilots trained for handling emergencies at what he said was a "difficult" Tehran airport.
"The plane was in working order," said UIA president Yevgeniy Dykhne. "It was one of our best planes with a wonderful crew," Dykhne told a briefing in Kiev, choking back tears.
He declined to comment on speculation linking the crash to Iran's missile strike on US forces in Iraq on Wednesday morning, advising reliance on official sources for information rather than social networks, the Mail added.
