Obstacles hinder investigation of plane crash in Iran

Flight number PS752 of Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) on January 8 crashed and caught fire near Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran, Iran, shortly after taking off to Kiev, Ukraine.

Air accident investigations involving international flights are often complex, as investigators and technical experts from around the world gather to examine the cause of the disaster.

The scene of the plane crash in Tehran, Iran on January 8.

Typically, the country where the accident occurred leads the investigation, alongside officials from the victims’ countries and the main equipment manufacturers.

Because the plane that crashed belonged to the American company Boeing, a number of American experts should have left for the scene within one to two days.

The situation became more complicated after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said a lot of intelligence showed that flight PS752 was accidentally hit by an Iranian anti-aircraft missile.

In a video verified by the NY Times for authenticity, the missile fired into the sky over Tehran on the morning of January 8, coinciding with the time the Boeing 737-800 crashed, seemed to have hit some object.

When investigations turn to military or national security matters, the role of civilian investigators is often sidelined.

However, the Iranian government, through intermediaries such as the United Nations civil aviation organization, still expressed its desire for technical assistance from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and US officials.

Despite the NTSB being invited to assist, Washington’s role in the investigation process still faces many other obstacles.

Another problem for the US government is that they must find ways to protect citizens when they come to Tehran to serve the investigation.

The investigation by international experts also depends on the cooperation of the Iranian government.

The process of investigating an air accident often begins with searching for debris, analyzing it on-site for a week or more, to determine whether the plane was attacked, said Tony Cable, an air accident expert.

However, according to a preliminary report by Iranian aviation safety officials, the Boeing 737-800 aircraft debris has been `collected and moved to a safe location`.

Ukrainian plane lost its cruise signal before crashing

Ukrainian plane crash in Tehran, Iran on January 8.

The Canadian Transportation Safety Authority said yesterday that it had accepted an invitation to study the accident scene from Iranian officials, adding that the trip was being arranged.

The Boeing 777 was hit by an anti-aircraft missile on the journey from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 people on board, two-thirds of whom were Dutch.

In addition to the separate aviation safety investigation, the Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team (JIT) is also conducting a criminal investigation.

Diplomatic conflicts or technical issues have also caused some countries to hesitate in cooperating in investigating incidents.

Egypt was also hesitant to cooperate with France in the investigation of the EgyptAir plane crash while traveling from Cairo to Paris in 2016. Egypt was responsible for leading the investigation and its government leaned towards the null hypothesis.

However, the cause of the incident remains a mystery to this day, as French investigators were not provided with detailed information about the findings, citing anti-terrorism reasons.