Iran to send black boxes to Ukraine

Iran is sending to Ukraine the black boxes of the Ukrainian passenger plane that its military accidentally shot down this month, Tasnim news agency reported on Saturday. The Iranian authorities are also prepared for experts from France, Canada and the United States to examine the data from the boxes, the semi-official news agency said.

All 176 people aboard the plane were killed when the Ukrainian International Airlines flight was shot down on January 8 shortly after take-off from Tehran en route to the Ukrainian capital Kiev.

“With the use of the expertise of the countries of France, Canada and America we will try to read the (flight data recorder) in Kiev,” Hassan Rezaifar, a director in charge of accident investigations at Iran’s Civil Aviation Organisation was quoted as saying by Tasnim. “If this effort is unsuccessful then the black box will be sent to France.” The black boxes will not be read in Iran, Mr. Rezaifar said, according to Tasnim.