Montréal, 8 January 2021 - On the occasion of the anniversary of the downing of Ukraine International Airlines PS752, which occurred in Iran on 8 January 2020, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) wishes to again express its sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims of this accident.
While any aviation accident constitutes a grievous event, the downing of a civilian aircraft with innocent passengers on board constitutes an unacceptable event regardless of the cause.
The ICAO Council has consistently urged the Iranian Civil Aviation Authority to comply with the Aircraft Accident Investigation provisions of Annex 13 to the Chicago Convention.
Our goal is to assure that this event receives a thorough safety investigation so that governments and industry can enhance all applicable predictive and preventative measures, and expect the Final Report to contain specific recommendations agreed to by all participating countries.
ICAO also reiterates its commitment and its efforts to enhance flight safety over conflict or hazardous zones, notably including participation within the context of the Safer Skies initiative of the Government of Canada, so that such grievous events will never happen again.
We also encourage States' continued support for families of accident victims, as outlined in Annex 9 to the Chicago Convention and in the ICAO Policy on Assistance to Aircraft Accident Victims and their Families.
