RTThu, 09 Jan 2020 18:40 UTC
© Nazanin Tabatabaee / WANA via ReutersRescue team works among debris of a plane that crashed after take-off from Iran's Imam Khomeini airport
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called for a "proper" investigation into the crash of a Ukrainian airliner in Iran's capital, noting that the bulk of the plane's passengers were en route to Canada.
Trudeau said Canada's foreign minister would speak with his Iranian counterpart to discuss the need for a probe, but added it would be
"dangerous" to speculate about the cause of the crash at this early stage. Nonetheless, he said he expected Canada would have a role in any investigation into the incident.
The PM also noted that he had spoken to US President Donald Trump about the incident earlier on Wednesday.
The Ukrainian flight - a Boeing 737-800 - went down over Tehran on Tuesday night after an apparent technical failure, with Iranian officials stating the plane's engine caught fire before it crashed. All 167 passengers, as well as 9 crew members, were killed.
Insisting on carrying out its own independent probe, Tehran earlier refused to hand the plane's black box to Boeing, but said Ukrainian officials will be allowed to be
"present during investigations."Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a team of experts would be dispatched to Iran to help determine the cause of the crash and to "establish the truth and those responsible for this terrible catastrophe
." While Kiev revoked its initial statement pinning the crash on an equipment malfunction without explanation, Zelensky has also urged the public to refrain from speculating about what happened.
Comment: Britain is weighing in on the matter, and appears to have already
made up its mind by giving emphasis to the missile hypothesis:
The UK government says it is looking into "very concerning" reports that the Ukrainian Boeing passenger airliner that crashed near Tehran this week, killing all 176 on board, may have been hit by a missile.
Johnson has said that there needs to be "a full, credible and transparent investigation into what happened," according to his spokesman.
The remarks come after Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's Security Council, told Ukrainian media that officials were working on a number of theories regarding the crash, including that of a missile strike "as information has surfaced on the internet about elements of a missile being found near the site of the crash."
Ukraine had initially suggested that the crash was due to an engine fire or another technical issue, but later retracted the statement. President Zelensky cautioned the public against spreading conspiracy theories and speculating on what could have caused the crash - which has already been named the deadliest in the history of modern Ukraine.
Iran is arguing
against the missile story:
Iranian civil aviation authorities rejected as 'scientifically impossible' the media reports that the Ukrainian passenger jet departing Tehran was shot down by a missile, and called the scenario 'illogical rumors'.
"Scientifically, it is impossible that a missile hit the Ukrainian plane, and such rumours are illogical," Ali Abedzadeh, head of Iran's of Civil Aviation Organization, said on Thursday, according to the news agency ISNA.
Iranian civil aviation authorities considered the possibility that the plane was shot down, but dismissed it because the plane attempted to return to the airport. Ukrainian officials cited a photo of missile debris that "was published on the internet" as possible evidence of an attack, but Iranian authorities say the photos do not match physical evidence.
"No parts of a missile were found at the scene of the crash," civil aviation inspector Hassan Rezaeifar told the IRNA news agency, describing the missile scenario as "off the table."
Not to mention the fact that Iraqi airspace is some of the most surveilled in the world from all sides. How would such a launch be hidden?
More:
Eyewitnesses observed a fire on the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 while it was still airborne, Iran's civil aviation organization noted. The aircraft attempted to return to Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport before crashing, killing all 176 people on board, the organization said. The Iranian investigators confirmed that no distress calls or messages were received from the pilot before the plane hit the ground.
Security cameras captured the very first seconds of a Ukrainian Boeing 737-800 crash near Tehran, showing the site being strewn with burning debris.
Ukraine is taking the lead in the
investigation but is following the West's lead in proposing a Russian-made missile:
Kiev will establish if its airliner, which crashed near Tehran with 176 on board, was hit by a 'Russian-made' missile, collided with a drone, or was targeted by terrorists, a Ukrainian security council official has said.
Ukraine has sent dozens of investigators to Iran to look into possible causes of the crash, including "an explosion inside the plane following a terrorist attack," collision with an unmanned aerial vehicle, or a direct hit by "a surface-to-air missile," Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the security council, told Censor news outlet.
Kiev is now in talks with Tehran regarding access to the crash site, the official added. They said investigators will search it for any "wreckage of a Russian-[made] Tor missile," referring to allegations that popped up on social media.
Iran has acquired 29 Tor-M1 missile systems over a decade ago, receiving delivery of the final batch in 2007. Developed back in Soviet Union, the all-weather, short-range system has been immensely popular with armies across the Middle East, North Africa and Asia.
That claim may not sit well with Iran's preliminary findings, which it disclosed earlier in the day. The country's civil aviation authority said the Boeing 737-800, operated by Ukraine International Airlines, caught fire when it was airborne. Pilots tried to return to Imam Khomeini airport from which they departed, but to no avail. They made no distress calls during the emergency, it has emerged.
On Wednesday, Ukraine had initially suggested that the crash was due to an engine fire or another technical issue, but later retracted the statement. Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelensky cautioned the public against spreading conspiracy theories and speculating on what could have cause the crash - which has already been named the deadliest in the history of modern Ukraine.
Wonder who asked for the retraction . . . .
Spare the world your tears. Yes, Canada should be allowed to know what is going on but we must not be allowed control over any part of the investigation.
Malaysia should be the country allowed to investigate this most recent crash.