International investigators in France have completed the download and preliminary analysis of data from the black boxes recovered from the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) jet shot down by Iran in January, killing all 176 people on board.
Canada's Transportation Safety Board said on July 23 that the download and preliminary analysis of the cockpit voice and flight data was an “important milestone” in the investigation into the doomed flight.
“The work in Paris is finished, but the investigation is far from over. There are still many key questions that need to be answered,” Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Kathy Fox said.
Fox did not say what the analysis had revealed, but she urged Iranian authorities leading the investigation to be transparent and credible.
Iran agreed in June to send the black boxes to France's civil aviation investigation bureau, ending a long dispute with Canada, Ukraine, and France over access to the data.
Many of the crash victims were Canadian citizens or permanent residents, or had Canada as their final destination.
Iranian forces say they downed the Boeing 737 on January 8 after mistaking it for an incoming missile at a time of high tensions with the United States.
Iran later called it a "disastrous mistake" by forces who were on high alert.
Iran's Civil Aviation Organization’s interim report blamed the tragedy on the misalignment of a radar system and lack of communication between the air-defense operator and his commanders.
