July 20, 2020
By Moira Warburton
TORONTO (Reuters) – Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne confirmed in a tweet https://bit.ly/30uHtB1 on Sunday that the black boxes of a downed Ukrainian airliner that killed all 176 people on board in January had arrived in Paris, ending a months-long standoff.
The black boxes are expected to be brought to France’s air accident agency, BEA, on Monday for analysis, Champagne said, adding that Canadian transportation officials would be present.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has said it accidentally shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 on Jan. 8, mistaking it for a missile at a time when tensions were high between Iran and the United States.
Many of the victims killed in the crash were Canadian citizens or permanent residents, or had Canada as their final destination.
On Saturday, Iran’s deputy foreign minister said the boxes had been sent to France for analysis.
The fate of the cockpit voice and data recorders has been the subject of an international standoff since the plane was shot down, with Canada, France and Ukraine demanding access.
(Reporting by Sabahatjahan Contractor in Bengaluru; Editing by Diane Craft and Peter Cooney)
