A judge in Canada ruled that Ukraine International Airlines could be held liable for the incident that occurred on January 8, 2020. On that fateful day, 176 passengers were killed after Flight PS 752 was shot down by Iranian surface-to-air missiles.
Last week, the judge issued the ruling in Canada because there were several Canadians of Iranian origin on the plane. The Ontario Superior Court ruled that the UIA was negligent in allowing flight PS752 to leave Tehran on January 8, 2020 at a time of international tension. According to Paul Miller, one of the lawyers representing the surviving relatives, the UIA is now unable to compensate up to a maximum of US$180,000. He says the company must pay full compensation. According to him, this means that Ukraine International Airlines will have to provide compensation of at least $230,000 per family.
The Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 took off at 6:12 a.m. Minutes after taking off from Imam Khamenei International Airport in Tehran, the machine was hit by two ground missiles. Ever-rising tensions between Iran and the United States have left the Middle Eastern country on high alert in anticipation of US retaliatory strikes. According to the judge, who referred to the Iranian government's report, flight PS 752 coming from Ukraine had been approved by the Iranian military. Moreover, there is no doubt that the plane was a commercial airliner. She flew away from Tehran. It gained altitude, flying at the speed expected for a commercial airliner but not for the missile, and at an altitude inconsistent with the missile. “With an effective transponder system, if it had been used as secondary radar surveillance, it would have given the Iranian military information about the commercial aircraft if they had requested it,” the judge said.
However, the judge ruled that Ukraine International Airlines was negligent in its policy. Although the company has taken some safety measures, these decisions are often questioned. Furthermore, the judge held that “the risk assessment conducted on January 8, 2020 fell below the standard expected of the UIA and its employees in several ways.”
