Iran says forgetful operator helped trigger Ukraine jet crash
An Iranian
air defense unit that “forgot” to adjust its radar system triggered a chain of
communication and human errors that led to the deadly downing of a Ukrainian
passenger jet in January, according to a report from Iran’s Civil Aviation
Organization.
Iran said it mistakenly shot down Ukraine
International Airlines Flight 752 shortly after take-off, killing all 176
aboard. Decoding of the jet’s black boxes is expected to start July 20.
The plane was downed by two missiles,
fired 30 seconds apart, from an air defense unit that mistook the jet for a
cruise missile. An operator had forgotten to re-adjust the north direction on
the radar system after moving to a new position, an error that contributed to misreading
the radar’s data, according to the report published on CAO’s website on
Saturday.
“The operator of the air defense system
launched a missile at what it had detected as a hostile target without response
from the command center,” CAO said in the report, adding that an unnamed person
took action independently and without authorization from superiors.
The incident took place hours after Iran’s
defense systems were put on high alert following the country’s missile attack
on a US air base in Iraq in retaliation for the killing of a top Iranian
general by the order of President Donald Trump.
Six people have been arrested in
connection with the incident, authorities said in June without giving details.
