"As I said, based on the law, there is full coordination between our air defence and and our civil [aviation] system. Our civil aviation personnel and air defence personnel sit side by side, so it is absolutely impossible for such a thing [shooting down a passenger plane] to happen."
The latest report from Tehran said that according to the aviation authority, the pilot did contact Mehrabad airport, which deals with domestic flights in Tehran, seeking permission to climb to a higher altitude of 26,000 ft.
"We're getting that extra information because before we thought the pilot had no communication but now we're hearing that he did communicate with Mehrabad airport," Baig said.
The aviation authority also said the plane had caught fire for a minute and a half to two minutes.
"They said that he did try to turn the airplane around and his priority was to save the aircraft and the passengers," Baig said.
Iranian authorities have said they will try to repair the damaged black box to retrieve the data, but if they don't succeed, they will seek assistance from Canada, the US and Ukraine, Baig added.
"We're getting that extra information because before we thought the pilot had no communication but now we're hearing that he did communicate with Mehrabad airport," Baig said.
The aviation authority also said the plane had caught fire for a minute and a half to two minutes.
"They said that he did try to turn the airplane around and his priority was to save the aircraft and the passengers," Baig said.
Iranian authorities have said they will try to repair the damaged black box to retrieve the data, but if they don't succeed, they will seek assistance from Canada, the US and Ukraine, Baig added.
The NTSB confirmed it would take part in the probe after an Iranian official told Reuters of the agreement.
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