Iran Announces Results of Analysis of Downed Ukrainian Plane Black Box

Photo by Borna Qassemi, ISNA

In a press conference on Sunday, the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization (CAO) said the conversations inside the cockpit have been recorded on the black box until 19 seconds after the first missile hit the plane.

“Three members of the flight crew were present in the cockpit … all of whom were aware of the out-of-the-ordinary situation and they were controlling the aircraft till the last second amid the unusual sound inside the cockpit,” said CAO chief Touraj Dehqani Zanganeh.

“The recorded data contains no sounds or signs of the condition of the passenger cabin, and the way the flight crew were talking and reacting suggests they were physically well during those moments,” the official added.

“As the recording of the voice and sound inside the cockpit stopped 19 seconds after the first explosion, and the second missile reached the plane at least 25 seconds after the first explosion, the black box provided no analysis of the effects of the second missile fired,” he added.

“The explosion of the first missile did considerable damage to the plane, and parts of the missile hit the aircraft causing the FDR and CVR systems to shut down at some point in the following 19 seconds,” he added.

The Ukrainian plane was accidentally shot down by the IRGC Air Defence in January, and all its 176 crew and passengers were killed.