DETAILED TIMELINE FOR JANUARY 8, 2020

Detailed Timeline for January 8, 2020

00:01 TT (approximately) The SAM unit reportedly arrives at its location west of Tehran around midnight on January 8, 2020, according to statements by IRGC Brigadier General Hajizadeh on January 11, 2020.18 02:00 TT (approximately) Iran launches ballistic missiles towards two Iraqi bases hosting US troops.

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03:40 TT The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issues a NOTAM prohibiting US carriers from operating in the Tehran FIR. The NOTAM prohibits US carriers from operating due to “heightened military activities and increased political tensions in the Middle East, which present an inadvertent risk to US Civil Aviation Operations due to the potential for miscalculation or misidentification.”20 This NOTAM affects US air carriers only, and UIA was not on the FAA distribution list. 04:00 TT (approximately) The Iranian military takes over responsibility for authorizing startup approval for civilian flight departures from IKA.21 05:00 TT Qatar Airways Flight QR491 departs IKA. 05:07 TT Turkish Airlines Flight TK873 departs IKA. 05:17 TT Atlas Global Flight KK1185 departs IKA. 05:39 TT Qatar Airways Flight QR8408 departs IKA. 05:51 TT Flight PS752 requests authority from IKA Air Traffic Control (ATC) to start aircraft engines.22 05:52 TT The ATC requests military clearance for Flight PS752 via the Tehran Air Coordination Center.23 05:54 TT The clearance request is forwarded to the Civil-Military Operational Coordination Center (CMOCC).24 05:55 TT Flight PS752 is cleared for start-up and pushback.25 05:56:18 TT The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) begins recording at the time of engine start-up.26 06:10:20 TT Flight PS752 receives take-off clearance from IKA ATC.27 06:12 TT Flight PS752 departs IKA after being cleared for take-off by both civilian and military authorities

and becomes airborne with 167 passengers and 9 crew members aboard.28 UIA confirmed that the departure of Flight PS752 had been delayed to offload passenger luggage in order to meet the maximum take-off mass of 72,500 kg.29 06:13:56 TT The operator of an Iranian SAM system likely misidentifies the commercial passenger jet taking off and ascending from east to west as a cruise missile30 incoming from west to east. Iran’s AAIB Factual Report dated July 11, 2020 indicates that “the system operator began analyzing the observable information and categorized the detected target as a threat.”31 06:14:19 TT Iran’s Final Report states that “the operator notified the specifications of the detected target to the relevant Coordination Center via the communications network. The message was not relayed to the Center. In fact, it had not been recorded in the recorded messages of the Coordination Center.”32 The Forensic Team could not confirm that this alleged communication ever took place. 06:14:39 TT Iran’s Final Report indicates that “without receiving any response (command) from the Coordination Center, the operator came to the conclusion that the observed target was a threat and fired a missile at it at 06:14:39 TT.”33

06:14:56 TT Iran’s Final Report states that, according to the CVR read-out “a strong and short impulse, similar to a detonation is recorded.”34 This sound corresponds to the FDR failure.35 Iran’s Final Report also indicates that the CVR read-out showed that “the flight crew became aware of the unusual conditions after the impulse sound and immediately started to take necessary actions to control the situation and operation of the aircraft in that condition.”36 06:15:09 TT A second missile is fired at Flight PS752.37 06:15:15 TT The CVR ends 19 seconds after the failure of the FDR.38

06:15:22 TT Iran’s Final Report states that the last communication between the second missile and the defence system was recorded in a place close to the aircraft route. A message was received on the defence system indicating the strike had failed, with the aircraft clearing from the radar lock-on after some time.39 06:16:11 TT A fire breaks out on Flight PS752 and begins intensifying.40 06:18:23 TT Flight PS752 crashes into the ground and explodes in Khalajabad near Shahriar, southwest of Tehran.41 All passengers and crew perished in the crash.42

07:49 TT Flights are halted for a period of time after the downing of Flight PS752 and resume with an Iran Air Airbus A330 flight, IR 721, departing for Frankfurt, Germany.