Belarus Calls ICAO Report on Ryanair Incident Politically 'Adjusted'

MINSK (Sputnik) - Belarus rejects the results of the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) investigation into the diversion of a Ryanair passenger jet in Minsk in 2021, dubbing it inconsistent and intentionally tweaked to fit a pre-made political verdict, the Belarus delegation said at the meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council.
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On July 20, ICAO concluded in its latest updates to the report on the Ryanair flight incident that the bomb threat against the aircraft was "deliberately false" and was communicated to the crew upon instructions of seniors Belarus officials. Artyom Sikorsky, the head of the aviation department at the Belarusian transport ministry, said that the document "does not hold water," adding Minsk “categorically rejected it.”
The Belarus delegation to the OSCE pointed out to numerous flaws in the investigation, including the absence of pilot interrogations, or explanations as to why they destroyed the cockpit audio recordings when taking the decision to divert the plane.
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The officials noted that several European countries, which had first-hand information on the incident, declined to provide it to the ICAO council, let alone the Belarusian authorities.
"Belarus submitted important written information about the testimony of the air traffic controller to the ICAO, but the working group did not consider this testimony in the final report. Is this not direct evidence of attempts to "adjust" the results of the investigation to a pre-made emotional political verdict, for the benefit of the European Union and the United States?" the delegation said.
Another inconsistency concerns the involvement of some "senior Belarus officials," who allegedly ordered the grounding. The delegates pointed out that this claim only appeared in the resolution of the ICAO council and was never mentioned in the conclusions of the ICAO working group.
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On May 23, 2021, Belarus diverted the Ryanair plane flying from Athens to Vilnius to Minsk over a bomb threat that turned out to be false. Belarusian opposition activist Roman Pratasevich and his girlfriend were arrested when the plane landed.
The ICAO launched a probe into the incident, which revealed that the bomb warning was deliberately false and endangered the flight's safety. It will present the findings to the ICAO assembly of 193 UN member states in fall.
Following the controversy, some airlines imposed restrictive measures against Minsk, including a ban on Belarusian carriers flying in European airspace.
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