US safety agency joins probe of Ukrainian plane crash in Iran

The United States' transportation safety agency announced that it accepted Tehran's invitation to join the investigation into the crash of Ukrainian International Airlines flight 752.

"The National Transportation Safety Board's Response Operations Center received formal notification from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board of the Civil Aviation Organization of Iran of the crash of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752... NTSB has designated an accredited representative to the investigation of the crash, involving a Boeing 737-800," the agency said in a statement on Thursday. "Iran's AAIB is the lead investigative agency and questions regarding the progress of the investigation should be directed there.

The jet crashed on Wednesday near Tehran's shortly after takeoff, killing all 176 people on board. The accident took place minutes after Iran's missile attack on US bases in Iraq. Tehran blamed a technical malfunction while US and Canadian authorities said Iran shot down the aircraft perhaps unintentionally.