New York: The US National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday it will join the probe into the Ukrainian Boeing airliner which went down in Iran.
In a statement posted on its Twitter account, the agency said it had "received formal notification" from Iran of the crash which occurred on Wednesday.
The plane, a US-made Boeing 737, went down minutes after takeoff from Tehran, and shortly after Iran had fired missiles at military bases in Iraq housing US troops. "The NTSB has designated an accredited representative to the investigation of the crash," said the US agency which probes transport accidents.
"The NTSB continues to monitor the situation surrounding the crash and evaluate its level of participation in the investigation," which will be led by Iran, the statement said.
"As with any investigation in which the NTSB is involved, the agency will not speculate about the cause of the crash."
On Thursday, Trudeau said "multiple" intelligence sources indicate that Iran shot down the US-made Boeing 737 after it took off from Tehran, killing all 176 on board, including 63 Canadians.
Trudeau's comments came as images posted on social media increasingly pointed to a catastrophic mistake by Tehran's air defense batteries bringing the down Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 in flames Wednesday.
Citing information from allies as well as Canada's own intelligence, the prime minister said the plane appeared to have been hit by an Iranian surface-to-air (SAM) missile. "We know this may have been unintentional. Canadians have questions, and they deserve answers," Trudeau told reporters.
The prime minister was backed by other Western leaders, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson who said mounting evidence supported a missile strike, which "may well have been unintentional." US President Donald Trump indicated that Washington officials believed the Kiev-bound Boeing 737 was struck by one or more Iranian missiles before it ditched and exploded outside Tehran.
Flight PS752 went down just minutes after takeoff from Tehran airport in the dark early Wednesday, with no radio message from the pilot to indicate distress, according to the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization.
The disaster unfolded amid worries of a possible war between the United States and Iran, just hours after Tehran launched ballistic missiles at American military targets in Iraq in retaliation for the January 3 US drone strike in Baghdad that killed a top Iranian general.
The Iranian government said the missile strike scenario made "no sense," however, arguing that several internal and international flights had been sharing approximately the same airspace. Tehran later asked Ottawa to share its information with Iranian investigators.
Trudeau said Canada was working with allies to ensure a credible probe takes place. "The families of the victims want answers, Canadians want answers, I want answers," he said.
"That means closure, transparency, accountability, and justice. This government will not rest until we get that." Johnson called Thursday for a full, transparent investigation. "It is vital that there should be an immediate and respectful repatriation of those who've lost their lives to allow their families to grieve properly," the British leader said.
"The UK continues to call on all sides urgently to deescalate to reduce tensions in the region."
Trump would not directly confirm what US intelligence was saying privately."I have my suspicions," Trump said. "It was flying in a pretty rough neighborhood and somebody could have made a mistake." "Some people say it was mechanical. I personally don't think that's even a question," he said, adding that "something very terrible happened." But unnamed officials told US media satellite, radar and electronic data indicated Tehran's air defense units downed the aircraft.
ABC News reported that an unnamed official said it was "highly likely" the plane was brought down by two SAMs. Ukraine called for United Nations support for a broad investigation, and sent 45 crash investigators to Tehran to take part in the inquiry led by Iranian authorities.
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