Iran admits an air-defence battery shot the airliner down near Tehran in January, blaming human error.

Champagne says the Canadian team will be led by a former deputy director of operations at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and will have members from several federal departments.

Canadian experts have been present as observers in the probe of the crash being carried out under international air travel rules, but can play only a very limited role.

Fifty-five Canadians and 30 permanent residents were among the 176 people killed in the crash, with many more of the passengers bound for Canada as well.

The route from Tehran to Kyiv, Ukraine, was a popular first leg of the voyage from Iran to Canada.