Iran says misaligned radar led to fatal crash of Ukrainian plane that killed 176 people

Nearly six months after the Ukrainian jet was ‘mistakenly’ downed by Iranian missile, Tehran has said that misaligned radar led to the fatal crash in January. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had previously called for 'national unity' after its military 'unintentionally' shot down a Ukrainian jetliner due to 'human error'. Boeing 737-700  crashed shortly after take-off outside Tehran killing 176 people reportedly including 63 Canadians. The Iranian Civil Aviation authority said in a report on July 11 that a “failure occurred due to a human error in following the procedure” for aligning the radar and leading to a “107-degree error” in the security system.

According to international media reports, Iran has now revealed that the misalignment of the air defence unit’s radar system was the key “human error” that led to the accident that had sparked the controversy at the beginning of 2020. It took place just days after United States-led airstrike at Baghdad international airport, killing Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), an Iraqi state-sponsored umbrella organisation.

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Man who posted video arrested

Iran on January 14 had reportedly stated that it had arrested the person who posted a video online showing missile attacking the Boeing jetliner last week. According to an international media report, the person, who was taken into custody by the elite Revolutionary Guards, will be facing charges related to national security. The Iranian judiciary also announced that they have also made the arrest of several people over the incident. 

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in a televised speech further said that everyone responsible for the downing of the Ukrainian passenger plane must be punished. He further added that for the people of Iran it is very important that whoever responsible for the negligence at any level must be punished. After initially denying its involvement in the January 8 crash, Iran on January 11 admitted that it accidentally shot down the jetliner because of a human error. 

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(Inputs: Agency) (Image credit: AP)