In the aftermath of a Ukrainian airliner crash, Iranian authorities are reportedly not handing over the plane’s black box to Boeing.
On Wednesday, after the plane took off in Tehran, the airliner crashed in Iran, killing 176 people — including 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, as well as others from different countries — leaving no survivors, as IJR reported.
The plane is a Boeing 737-800NG aircraft, that just had its last maintenance on Jan. 6.
However, authorities in Iran are reportedly not wanting to give the plane’s black box to the manufacturer, which is Boeing, according to Reuters, who quoted Ali Abedzadeh, the head of Tehran’s civil aviation organization. Abedzadeh is also unsure what country the black box will be sent to.
Both of the black boxes for the plane were found. The black box provides flight data and cockpit voice recordings.
Boeing wrote in response to the plane crash early Wednesday on Twitter, “This is a tragic event and our heartfelt thoughts are with the crew, passengers, and their families. We are in contact with our airline customer and stand by them in this difficult time. We are ready to assist in any way needed.”
As ABC foreign affairs reporter Julia Macfarlane noted, “It is worth remembering that Boeing is America’s largest export firm by dollar value and is a hugely important company to the US.”
Here's the "black box" from the Ukrainian plane that crashed near Tehran earlier this morning. (Iranian state TV) pic.twitter.com/gYTLArU6LO
— BBC Monitoring (@BBCMonitoring) January 8, 2020
The plane crash comes shortly after Iran fired missiles at two military bases where U.S. troops are stationed in Iraq late Tuesday — though officials have not drawn a connection between the plane crash and the missile strike.
However, prior to the Ukrainian airliner crash, major airlines canceled Iraq and Iran flights, as well as re-routed other flights, after the missile strike.