Iran crash: Boeing seeks US approval to aid in investigation
The aerospace giant is working with the FAA and NTSB
Iran continues to refuse Boeing access to crashed 737’s black box as Ukraine suggests the incident could have been caused by a missile or some act of terrorism. Fox News’ Dan Springer with more.
Boeing said Friday it's seeking approval from U.S. officials to help with the investigation into the deadly crash of one of its 737-800 passenger jets flown by Ukraine International Airlines.
The aerospace giant said it's working with the two federal agencies – the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board – “on the necessary applications and approvals,” Reuters reported. While the planemaker typically assists with investigations into crashes of any of its airliners, it's hindered in this case by U.S. sanctions that penalize companies doing business with the Islamic Republic.
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A Boeing spokesperson confirmed the company is cooperating with the NTSB, which investigates major accidents in commercial transportation services and has designated a representative to the probe.
Earlier Friday, Iran denied Western allegations that one of its own missiles downed the jetliner that crashed early Wednesday outside Tehran, hours after Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two U.S. bases in Iraq to avenge the killing of its top general in an American airstrike last week. All 176 people on board the Ukraine International Airlines flight died.
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“What is obvious for us, and what we can say with certainty, is that no missile hit the plane,” Ali Abedzadeh, head of Iran's national aviation department, told a press conference.
“If they are really sure, they should come and show their findings to the world" in accordance with international standards, he added.
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Hassan Rezaeifar, the head of the Iranian investigation team, said recovering data from the black box flight recorders could take more than a month and that the entire investigation could stretch into next year. He also said Iran may request help from international experts if it is not able to extract the flight recordings.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.