A Ukrainian plane crashed in Tehran yesterday, presumably shot down by the Iranian Air Defense.
Such a version was launched by Jordan-based media Al Hadat. A profile on Facebook reported that a 177-person Boeing was hit by a rocket fired by the Islamic Republic’s armed forces. A short time later, the post was also posted to an account on the UK’s most popular Daily Mail network. Both editions deleted their posts in a few hours.
The reason for the publications were allegations that the engine of the machine caught fire in the air.
Investigators in Iran have indicated that they believed the original cause of the tragedy was a technical malfunction of the aircraft.
A representative of the air carrier, for its part, said the machine was working properly and the crew was made up of professionals.
Iran, meanwhile, is refusing to hand over the black boxes to Boeing’s fallen Tehran plane. This was reported by Iranian media Mehr, quoted by Reuters.
“We will not give the black boxes to the manufacturer and the Americans,” said Ali Abedzadeh, quoted by Mehr.
Abedzadeh also explained that he did not know where the box for analysis would be sent.
According to international air transport legislation, the country on whose territory the accident occurred has the right to investigate, said Abedzadeh. He added that “the investigation of this incident will be the responsibility of Iran, but the Ukrainians will be able to participate in it.”
Under the rules of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to which Iran, the United States and Ukraine are members, an accident investigation is conducted in the country where it has occurred.
Nevertheless, according to industry experts, few countries are able to analyze the ‘black boxes’. These include Germany, the United States, France and the United Kingdom.
Boeing have not yet responded to the refusal.
