Iran ‘likely’ to hand over black box from Ukrainian airliner to France: Report

Iran will “likely” send the black box from the Ukrainian airliner it downed in January to France, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported on Sunday.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shot down the Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 on January 8, killing all 176 onboard.

Iran admitted to downing the plane after days of denying responsibility and insisting the plane crashed due to a “technical failure,” but it is yet to hand over the black boxes for analysis.

“Following the Ukrainian’s side delay in responding to Iran’s offer regarding the Ukrainian plane’s black box, the Iranian authorities have decided to send the black box to another country, probably France,” ISNA said.

Rescue workers carry the body of a victim of a Ukrainian plane crash in Shahedshahr, southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. (AP)

ISNA did not elaborate on what the Iranian offer was that Ukraine supposedly did not respond to in a timely manner, or when Iran plans on handing over the black box.

Iran “repeatedly” blocked the investigation team sent from Ukraine to Iran from investigating the crash site at the time of the incident, a senior member of the Ukrainian team said recently.

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