United Nations to review dangers of flying in conflict zones after deadly Iran crash

The United Nations'aviation agency says it will review the issue of passenger planesflying inconflict zones in the wake of theFlight PS752 disaster that killed 176 people, including 57 Canadians.

In a rare move,a team with the UN's International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), including four Canadians, has also joined the safety investigation into the Ukrainian plane that was shot down by Iran on Jan. 8.

The tragedy raisedquestions about why passenger planes wereallowed to take off in Iran while the military was on high alert after attackingbases in Iraq that house U.S. troops just hours earlier.At the time of the crash,Iran kept its airspace open.Ukraine and Ukraine International Airlines also didn't ground the plane.

It's up to countries dealing with conflictto close down theirairspace. The onus is also on other countries and airlines to proactively complete their own risk assessment and decide whether it's safe to fly in the region, according to international aviation conventions.

ICAO confirmed to CBC News it will look into its conflict zone guidance and compliance once theinvestigation into the crash is complete.

"All of this depends on the recommendations brought forward by the investigating states," ICAO spokesperson Anthony Philbinsaid in a statement to CBC News.

Iran invited ICAOto provide expert advice as part of theprobe. The move came as pressure from the international community mounted for a thorough and transparent investigation into how and why Iran shot the passenger plane out of the sky.

Four out of six senior and technical staff ICAO assigned to the case are based out of the agency'sheadquarters in Montreal. The team is advising and observing Iran's work to make sure its investigators comply with international requirements.

"Whether they may eventually be required to go to Iran will be up to the states they're assisting as things proceed,"Philbinsaid of ICAO'sexperts.

Theywill also work directly with other countries involved in the investigation, including Canada.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday he isencouraged ICAO is involved because its presencewill help "ensure that these situations no longer happen."

Six other cases

There have been six other cases since the 1980swhereICAOconsulted on a deadly aviation crash.

More than 30 years ago, the agency had an advisory role after a U.S. navy ship missile shot down an Iran Air jetliner on itsway to Dubai, killing all 290 people on board.

Iranian PresidentHassan Rouhani reminded the world about that 1988 crash in a tweet just days before Iran admitted it mistakenlyshot downFlight PS752.

Other cases the UN agency monitored include:

• Pakistan: On July 18, 2010, anAirblueAirbusA320crashed near Islamabad, killing all 146 passengers and six crew on board.
• Sudan: A helicopter contracted by the UN crashed in the Darfur region, killing four crew membersonSept.29, 2008.
• Cuba:Two private American planes were shot down by a Cuban military aircraft on Feb.24,1996, killing four pilots.

More recently, ICAOconsulted on the investigation into the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over Eastern Ukraine in July 2014. The crash killed 298 people, including one Canadian. The investigation found the plane was shot down over territory held by pro-Russian separatists.

'There were still potential gaps'

After MH17, theDutch Safety Board followed up with a report about the risk of flying over conflict zones andfound that countries with ongoing armed conflict are reluctant to close their airspace.

The board concluded the aviation parties involved hadnot adequately recognizedtherisks of the armed conflict in the area. But it also found the current system of assessing risks associated with flying over conflict areas is "in urgent need of improvement."

ICAOset up aspecial task force following theMH17 tragedy and created an online tool so countries could better share their conflict zone information.

"Airlines are required to conduct regular risk assessments along their route networks using all available information," according to the agency'swebsite.

Kathy Fox, chair of Canada's Transportation Safety Board, was asked last week if the world went far enough implementing the recommendations, and she said no. Shecited a warning included in the Dutchreport: in countries where there is "ongoing armed conflict," officials cannot be counted on to bar commercial airliners from the airspace on their own initiative.

"They recognized, when this report was issued, that there were still potential gaps. And unfortunately, we're seeing the results of that," Fox said.

They recognized, when this report was issued, that there were still potential gaps.- Kathy Fox, chair of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada

ICAO has also made a series of updates to its international requirements because of the lessons learned from the shooting down of MH17. That work includedimproving its risk assessment manual on civil aircraft operations over or near conflict zones.

Countries have also endorsed a manual about safety measures related to military activities that could pose a danger to commercial airliners, as well asguidance on civil and military co-operation in air traffic management.However, these amendments won't come into effect until later this year.