Data analysis on downed Ukraine jet starts Tuesday; Canada sceptical about Iran explanation

Investigators examining the black boxes from the Ukrainian jet accidentally shot down by Iran will begin analyzing recovered voice and flight data on Tuesday, France’s BEA accident investigation bureau said Monday. Iranian forces say they downed the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 jet on Jan. 8 after mistaking it for a missile amid heightened tensions with the United States. All 176 people on board - including 57 Canadians - were killed. BEA said on Twitter that both CVR and FDR data have been “successfully downloaded,” in reference to the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder. It did not elaborate on the content of the CVR audio, which records pilots’ verbal communications and other cockpit sounds. The release of any further information is a matter for Iranian authorities leading the investigation, a BEA spokesman said. Iran agreed in June to send the recorders to the BEA for analysis, ending a long standoff with Canada, Ukraine and France. Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne expressed doubt over an interim report by Iran’s Civil Aviation Organisation that blamed a misalignment of a radar system and lack of communication between the air defence operator and his commanders even for the downing of the plane. “I don’t put much credibility into that report. It’s not just the result of human error - I think that would be an oversimplification of what really happened,” he said. “We need to understand who the responsible people are, who gave that order, how could the airspace still be open, how were these missiles fired?”<br/>