CRASH SITE

Figure 2: Global News – Parking lot camera showing first missile launch

Figure 4: Global News – Parking lot camera showing aircraft on fire Figure 5: The New York Times – Ground security camera footage recording ground impact of aircraft

Figure 3: Global News – Parking lot camera showing second missile launch

showed the bright flashes of the aircraft impacting the ground.51 These videos were also used by other media outlets including Global News52 from which we obtained the above images.

Other footage that was authenticated and published by The New York Times showed the crash site as emergency workers scoured the area where debris was spread over a 1,500-foot radius around a small park, orchard, and a soccer field. The Forensic Team has no reason to doubt the authenticity of any of the referenced videos. The Global News video was particularly useful as its continuous footage showed the two missiles being launched within approximately 30 seconds of each other and the plane subsequently on a downward trajectory. The timings of these missile launches correspond to the admissions by Iran in its official reports.

Crash Site

Witness accounts of the crash site reported numerous uniformed rescue and emergency workers, officials in military uniforms as well as non-uniformed individuals present. Several bulldozers were also observed at the site by media officials as well as ordinary citizens, who posted the images on social media. Iranian media has published numerous photos that show the removal of aircraft fragments, the pillaging of the area, and bulldozing that occurred within hours of the accident.53 Some of the original images that were posted

Figure 6: Search and recovery of Flight PS752 crash site – AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi via CBC News January 8, 2020.56

Figure 7: Iranian Students’ News Agency via Tom Podolec Aviation (Twitter) - Flight PS752 aircraft wreckage Figure 8: Zuma/Alamy from The Guardian – Image of bulldozer removing aircraft wreckage from crash site, January 9, 202057

online have now been removed. According to foreign journalists who arrived at the site on the morning of January 10, 2020, most of the pieces of the aircraft had been removed, and there was no sign of the area being cordoned off by Iranian security officials.54 The rapid removal of crash debris is consistent with available photographs of the crash site from numerous sources.

Iran’s failure to protect the crash site is the source of many questions and concerns. The quick removal of wreckage and disturbance of the crash site prevented Accredited Representatives from effectively examining the site and the aircraft wreckage at its location.55