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Iran says won’t give Americans crashed plane’s black boxes
TEHRAN, Jan 8, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Iran’s aviation authority said it would
not hand over to Americans the recovered black boxes of a Boeing 737 that
crashed Wednesday, killing all 176 passengers and crew.
“We will not give the black boxes to the manufacturer (Boeing) and the
Americans,” Iran Civil Aviation Organisation head Ali Abedzadeh said, quoted
by Mehr news agency.
“It’s not yet clear which country the black box will go to for the
investigation,” he added.
Following the crash of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752
shortly after takeoff from Tehran on Wednesday, Iran said it had recovered
the Boeing 737’s two black boxes.
Abedzadeh said that based on global aviation rules, it was the right of
the country where air crashes occur to carry out the investigation.
“This accident will be investigated by Iran’s aviation organisation but
the Ukrainians can also be present during the incident’s investigation,” he
added.
Under the rules of the International Civil Aviation Organization, of
which Iran, Ukraine and the United States are all members, air crash
investigations are led by the country where the accident occurred.
However, according to aviation experts, the countries that are capable
of analysing black boxes are few — notably Britain, France, Germany and the
United States.
France’s Accident Investigation Bureau (BEA), which handles air crash
investigations, said it had not received any request for help from the
Iranian authorities after Wednesday’s crash.
BSS/AFP/IJ/1812 hrs