Investigators in France were able to retrieve audio from the moments before a civilian airliner was shot down by Iran killing all 176 people on board.
France’s Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety, which received the plane’s black box over the weekend, announced the recovery in a Monday tweet. However, the quality of the audio uncovered is unclear.
?@Boeing #737 UR-PSR @fly_uia #PS752 / FDR data – including the event itself – has been successfully downloaded by @BEA_Aero / Data transferred to Iran’s AAIB / Communication on their behalf / CVR & FDR data analysis will start tommorow with stakeholders. pic.twitter.com/5juy0ci2vl
— BEA ✈️ ?? ?? (@BEA_Aero) July 20, 2020
The black box, which contains information from when it was hit by two Iranian surface-to-air missiles on Jan. 8, was finally turned over for investigation more than six months after the crash. The flight was carrying 82 Iranians, 57 Canadians, and 11 Ukrainians.
Representatives from multiple countries, including Iran, Ukraine, Canada, and the United States, were present for the Monday download. Canadian Transportation Safety Board chief Kathy Fox told the CBC that the next step in the process will be an analysis about what was found in the black box.
“They have been successful at downloading the cockpit voice recorder data, and it is available for analysis. What’s on it, I don’t know,” Fox said. “That data could certainly share the discussions the crew was having in the preparation leading up to the departure and up to the missile strike. Were there any concerns about security? Were there any warnings given to the pilots? Did they have an inkling of what was to happen?”
The controversial crash came just hours after Iran fired a barrage of short-range ballistic missiles at bases holding U.S. troops in Iraq. The attack was in retaliation for the U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani days before.
