Ukraine asks Iran to hand black boxes of downed jet

Ukraine has asked Iran to hand over the black box flight recorders of a Ukrainian passenger plane that crashed after being hit by an Iranian missile, prosecutors said yesterday.

The Office of the General Prosecutor said it would take “all measures” to properly decode the black boxes and “preserve evidence in the investigation of the accident”.

Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called for “national unity” and flagged the need for changes to the way Iran is run after the accidental downing of a Ukrainian airliner.

The Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737, which had been bound for Kiev, slammed into a field shortly after taking off from Tehran last Wednesday, killing all 176 people on board.

The downing of the plane came hours after Tehran had launched a barrage of missiles at bases housing American troops in Iraq, in retaliation for the killing of commander Qasem Soleimani in a US strike.

Iran initially denied Western claims that the airliner had been downed by a missile but eventually conceded that the plane had been accidentally shot down.

 

Ukraine asks Iran to hand black boxes of downed jet

Ukraine has asked Iran to hand over the black box flight recorders of a Ukrainian passenger plane that crashed after being hit by an Iranian missile, prosecutors said yesterday. The Office of the General Prosecutor said it would take all measures to properly decode the black boxes and preserve evidence in the investigation of the accident. Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called for national unity and flagged the need for changes to the way Iran is run after the accidental downing of a Ukrainian airliner. The Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737, which had been bound for Kiev, slammed into a field shortly after taking off from Tehran last Wednesday, killing all 176 people on board. The downing of the plane came hours after Tehran had launched a barrage of missiles at bases housing American troops in Iraq, in retaliation for the killing of commander Qasem Soleimani in a US strike. Iran initially denied Western claims that the airliner had been downed by a missile but eventually conceded that the plane had been accidentally shot down.