Wife of Ukrainian Pilot: We Will Not Rest Until Iran Tells the Truth

The black box data from the Ukrainian aircraft shot down by Revolutionary Guard missiles, which the country’s aviation authority released a report on a few days ago, shows that between the impact of the two missiles, the pilots were in perfect health and were attempting to follow the necessary procedures to control the aircraft.

The wife of Volodymyr Gaponenko, the first pilot of flight 752, says she does not understand why Iranian military personnel pursued the 176 passengers on this aircraft like an action movie until they were certain all were dead.

We asked Kateryna Gaponenko whether the reports Iran has so far presented about its investigation into the aircraft shootdown bring us closer to the truth?

Kateryna Gaponenko: I don’t want to hear about human error. I believe they intentionally shot down this aircraft and intentionally killed all its passengers. When an armed military person stands among civilians and shoots enough to kill every single one of them, can we say it was human error?

A human committed this killing, but why? Was he insane? Did he have ulterior motives? Was he under pressure from someone? A judge can issue a verdict when he hears the answers to all these questions. But Iran, without answering these questions, says we have determined that human error occurred, the missile system was not properly installed, internal air defense communications were not established.

I cannot believe all these problems occurred simultaneously. And if that’s the case, I want them to convince me with reasoning. That is why all the relatives of the victims of this flight say we want the investigation to be transparent.

When you heard the report about the information obtained from the black box of the downed aircraft, what did you feel?

From the first day I told my two daughters that their father was a hero. His name will be recorded in history. Now everyone knows this. They know that in those circumstances when the aircraft was out of control, all the pilots’ efforts were focused on saving the aircraft and its passengers.

Only they didn’t know that a group of military personnel had targeted them like a crazy action movie game and wouldn’t allow them to escape. They didn’t know they were caught in a war and would be pursued until they were destroyed.

The pilots of this flight were not military and had no duty to fly in combat conditions. I want to hear from the government of Iran and the government of Ukraine why my husband was flying in the airspace of a country that was at war. I asked the president of Ukraine to award my husband a medal of heroism. The crew of this flight were all heroes; they should receive medals of honor.

The Association of Flight 752 Victims says that the opinion of most relatives is that compensation is of secondary importance. First the truth, then compensation. What is your view?

If Iran proves that shooting down this aircraft was unintentional, it should pay less compensation. And if it is proven that this act was intentional, the compensation amount will be higher. So until we understand what happened, we cannot discuss compensation.

But that’s not just the issue. If we don’t know the truth, we will not find peace. Our hope is that the truth will be a balm for our pain. I hope the Iranian government understands this. Tell us the truth and then pay appropriate compensation; equal compensation for everyone, because we have all been harmed by this tragedy.

Diplomats warn that negotiations could take years. Can your family wait that long?

In the first six months I received my husband’s salary from the airline. Now only social assistance is available to my children and our living standards have become very low. We moved from a villa in a pleasant climate area to Kyiv. My daughters can no longer continue their education in a private school.

I have always been a homemaker, but now, although our younger daughter is starting school this year, I am forced to look for work.

My greatest sorrow is that two missiles destroyed our hopes. My husband always had the best wishes for me and especially for our two daughters. I feel bad that without him I cannot provide the best conditions for my daughters; it’s as if I’m not being faithful to my husband’s hopes. Our life has become very difficult, very difficult indeed.

Source: Radio Farda