Ukraine vows to help Canada in probe
OTTAWA — Ukraine will help Canada participate in the Iranianled investigation of Wednesday’s plane crash near Tehran, the Ukrainian envoy in Ottawa said.
“The investigation on the ground is conducted by Iran, and Ukraine will, of course, contribute,” Andriy Shevchenko, Ukraine’s ambassador to Canada, said in an interview.
“We’re ready to do everything we can to help the investigation. We hope that the Canadian offer of contribution into the investigation will be recognized and appreciated.”
The Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800, bound for Kyiv, crashed shortly after taking off from the Iranian capital, killing all 176 people on board.
The Ukrainian offer is significant because Canada broke diplomatic relations with Iran in 2012, shuttering its Tehran embassy and expelling its diplomats.
The government cited Iran’s support of terrorism and concerns for the safety of its diplomats. Canada has also been a vocal critic of Iran’s human-rights record, including at the United Nations.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada will work with its international partners to investigate the cause of the plane crash thoroughly.
Transport Minister Marc Garneau said on Twitter that Canada would offer technical assistance in the crash investigation.
“Our minister of foreign affairs had a phone conversation with the Iranian minister of foreign affairs, so we have established contact on this. We also have our Ukrainian Embassy on the ground in Tehran,” Shevchenko said.
“It is heartbreaking. We have been such close friends with Canada and share so many good things. Now we will have to walk through this pain together.”
The Transportation Safety Board said it appointed an expert to monitor the progress of the Iranian investigation.
“The TSB remains available to provide any technical assistance requested by Iranian and Ukrainian accident investigation bodies,” it said.
Ukraine officials are working closely with the Iranians to identify all the victims and repatriate their remains, Shevchenko said. The Ukraine government has dispatched two planes to Iran to help with that task.
The Conservative defence critic said he doesn’t want the Iranian government to block access to investigators from Canada or any other countries affected.
“I would encourage the Iranian regime to co-operate with the international investigation, and in particular allow Canada, Ukraine and the other nations who lost citizens on that flight to be involved in that investigation, regardless of the regional tensions right now and the politics surrounding the recent attacks,” Tory MP James Bezan said in an interview.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement the United States wants “complete cooperation with any investigation into the cause of the crash.”
The crash occurred just hours after Iran launched missile attacks on bases in Iraq where American troops are stationed. Iran said the attacks were retaliation for the American killing of a top Iranian general near Baghdad last week.
The Iranian military disputed any suggestion the plane had been hit by a missile, and Iranian aviation authorities said they suspected a mechanical problem brought down the 31⁄2-year-old Boeing 737. Ukrainian authorities initially said it appeared mechanical failure was to blame, but later walked that back, saying nothing had been ruled out.
“Families deserve to get a full report on exactly what happened,” Bezan said.
“I don’t think we can speculate on the cause of the crash, but answers have to be forthcoming. I’m sure families would be devastated if Iran blocked access of international investigators from helping out with the full investigation into what caused the crash.”
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh wrote on Twitter: “These families deserve clear answers, but, whatever the cause, this is devastating.”
Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne and Garneau are reaching out to their international counterparts, Trudeau said.
“Our government will continue to work closely with its international partners to ensure that this crash is thoroughly investigated, and that Canadians’ questions are answered,” Trudeau said.
“I assure all Canadians that their safety and security is our top priority. We also join with the other countries who are mourning the loss of citizens.”
OTTAWA — The crash of an airplane, anywhere in the world, launches an investigative process with standards for what evidence needs to be collected and who can be involved. Here’s how it might work after the crash of a Ukrainian airliner flying from Tehran to Kyiv, with many Canadians aboard:
Who is involved?
Under rules set out by the International Civil Aviation Organization, the countries where the crash happened, where the plane is registered, where the plane’s operator is located, and where its manufacturer is based are all brought in. In this case, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board of the Civil Aviation Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran is in charge. Ukraine assists because the operator is based there, and so should the United States because that’s where Boeing, the manufacturer of the 737-800 aircraft, is located.
The lead country can call in other outside experts to look more closely at the engines, the pilots and maintenance, among other areas, said Barbara Dunn, president of the Canadian Society of Air Safety Investigators.
As well, the country suffering the most fatalities from the crash is usually invited to take part, said Daniel Adjekum, an assistant professor of aviation at the University of North Dakota.
Canada’s Transportation Safety Board, in a statement, said it has an expert who will review factual information released by the Iranians and monitor progress on the investigation “by virtue of fatalities to Canadian citizens.”
The host country can also turn to Interpol for assistance identifying victims, which could include help from the RCMP. In a statement Wednesday, the Mounties said they co-ordinate help coming from the military, forensic odontologists (experts on identifying people via teeth) and provincial pathologists. The RCMP said no such request for help has come in.
When a Malaysian Airlines plane crashed over Ukraine in 2014, flying from the Netherlands to Malaysia, the safety authorities from the Netherlands led the investigation. More than two-thirds of the passengers were Dutch.
What are the first steps in an investigation?
Investigators collect pieces of the plane, interview as many people as possible — including witnesses, air-traffic controllers and any survivors — and collect evidence, including any information from air-traffic control. They will also map the crash site to determine details about the impact.
Documents, too, are collected by other countries involved, including those related to pilot training and maintenance logs.
For instance, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issued a directive in October 2019 that airlines should inspect the 737-800, among other 737 models, for cracking. Adjekum said investigators would look for how Ukraine International Airlines responded to this issue to see if that provides clues.
But he cautioned about jumping to conclusions about what downed the plane: “You don’t want to speculate. You want to be guided by the evidence.”
What about the black boxes?
The flight data and voice recorders, commonly known as black boxes (even though they are orange), record the sounds of the pilots’ voices, alarms and engines that could give investigators clues about what happened. The recorders also keep track of external factors, such as the weather. Iranian authorities said they had found the recorders from the Ukrainian plane.
Dunn said the recorders are sent to an independent authority, such as the Transportation Safety Board in Canada, which, Dunn said, has among the best labs in the world for the work. The idea of sharing the work is to “get as much information and as much causal factors as we possibly can because that’s how we stop it from happening again,” she said.
Others with noted reputations are the French and the Americans, but sending the recorders to the U.S. may be politically problematic with tensions high between Washington and Tehran. Iran says it won’t do so. Likewise, having American crash investigators in Tehran could be difficult.
Is there a role for Canada here?
Transport Minister Marc Garneau has offered Canada’s technical expertise, and this country might be asked to review the recorders as a third party, said
Elaine Parker, vice-president of the Canadian Society of Air Safety Investigators. Such a setup would also allow Boeing to be involved in analyzing data, because investigators would want the company’s expertise, she said.
Boeing is a major American defence contractor, which might complicate Iran’s willingness to co-operate with it as the crashed plane’s manufacturer.
What else might investigators do behind the scenes?
Parker said one thing investigators try to do is slow things down so no one gets hurt going to the scene of the crash and the scene is preserved. Slowing things down is critical because of the clamour from the public and politicians after a high-profile crash, she said.
“Everyone would like answers right away. I know they’re not going to get them,” Parker said, putting herself in the position of an investigator beginning work.
“The politicians are saying what they’re saying because this isn’t their area of expertise. I know they’re going to say things that are not going to be accurate and so I’m going to set up briefings for them.”