Black boxes from Iran plane crash have arrived in Paris: foreign affairs minister

Black boxes from the Ukrainian jetliner that was mistakenly shot down by Iran’s armed forces in January have arrived in Paris, according to Canada’s minister of foreign affairs.

“We have received confirmation that the black boxes of Flight #PS752 have arrived in Paris where they are expected to be brought to the @BEA_Aero tomorrow morning for analysis. Officials from @TSBCanada will be present,” Minister of Foreign Affairs François-Philippe Champagne tweeted on Sunday afternoon.

The black boxes are expected to be taken to the BEA — the French civil aviation safety authority — on Monday morning.

“While we welcome the delivery of Flight PS752’s recorders to France’s Civil Aviation Safety Investigation and Analysis Bureau, this is long overdue, and is only a step towards completing the safety investigation,” a spokesperson from Global Affairs Canada said in a statement.

“We reiterate our demand for Iran to conduct a full, transparent, and independent flight safety investigation in accordance with international standards.

Champagne tweeted that officials from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada will be there.

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Iranian news has previously quoted an Iranian government official as saying the black box was taken to Paris on Friday, according to an Associated Press story from July 18.

The Boeing 737-800 was shot down on Jan. 8 by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, after Iran mistook it for an incoming missile. The plane crashed near Tehran, killing all 176 people on board, including 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents of Canada.

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The tragedy occurred amid heightened tensions between Iran and the U.S., after Iranian armed forces had launched missiles at American bases in Iraq — a move made in response to a U.S. strike on Iran’s Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

Iran described the downing of Flight PS752 as a “disastrous mistake.”

Five countries that had citizens on the flight — Canada, Ukraine, the U.K., Afghanistan and Sweden — created an international working group in response to the crash, to “ensure a full and transparent investigation” into why it happened.

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— With files by The Associated Press