TEHRAN — An Iranian airplane carrying more
than 100 passengers crashed as it tried to make
an emergency landing in heavy snow and fog,
killing at least 70 people, official news agencies
reported.
A rescue official, Heydar Heydari of the Red
Crescent organization, said 32 people had
survived but that the death toll was likely to rise,
the official IRNA news agency reported.
Bad weather forced the Boeing 727 aircraft to
abandon its first attempt to land as it approached
Orumiyeh, a city in West Azerbaijan Province in
the northwest, reports said. The plane was
circling for a second approach when it
disappeared from radar at around 7:45 p.m.,
state television reported.
News reports said the plane, on a domestic flight
from the capital, Tehran, tried to land on farmland
near Lake Orumiyeh.
Witnesses told the BBC Persian language news
service by telephone that the plane broke into
several pieces on impact but did not explode. A
number of passengers were reportedly able to
escape from the wreckage unharmed. Heavy
snow was said to have been hampering rescue
efforts.
Iran’s air industry has been plagued by safety
concerns for years, at least in part because
international sanctions have prevented the
country from purchasing new American and
European aircraft and spare parts for the ones it
has.
Iran’s American-built aircraft were purchased
before Iran’s 1979 revolution, when the two
countries cut off relations. Airlines, including
Iran ’s flagship carrier, Iran Air, have struggled to
keep those planes, as well as aging and often
unreliable aircraft bought from Russia and other
former Soviet states, in service.
In July 2009, a Russian-built Tupolev passenger
jet operated by Caspian Airlines of Iran crashed
on its way to Yerevan, Armenia, killing all 168
passengers and crew members.
In December 2005, 108 people were killed when
an Iranian military plane, a Lockheed C-130,
crashed into a high-rise housing block outside
Tehran. The following November, a military plane
crashed on takeoff at Tehran ’s Mehrabad Airport,
killing 38 people.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/10/world/middleeast/10iran.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
than 100 passengers crashed as it tried to make
an emergency landing in heavy snow and fog,
killing at least 70 people, official news agencies
reported.
A rescue official, Heydar Heydari of the Red
Crescent organization, said 32 people had
survived but that the death toll was likely to rise,
the official IRNA news agency reported.
Bad weather forced the Boeing 727 aircraft to
abandon its first attempt to land as it approached
Orumiyeh, a city in West Azerbaijan Province in
the northwest, reports said. The plane was
circling for a second approach when it
disappeared from radar at around 7:45 p.m.,
state television reported.
News reports said the plane, on a domestic flight
from the capital, Tehran, tried to land on farmland
near Lake Orumiyeh.
Witnesses told the BBC Persian language news
service by telephone that the plane broke into
several pieces on impact but did not explode. A
number of passengers were reportedly able to
escape from the wreckage unharmed. Heavy
snow was said to have been hampering rescue
efforts.
Iran’s air industry has been plagued by safety
concerns for years, at least in part because
international sanctions have prevented the
country from purchasing new American and
European aircraft and spare parts for the ones it
has.
Iran’s American-built aircraft were purchased
before Iran’s 1979 revolution, when the two
countries cut off relations. Airlines, including
Iran ’s flagship carrier, Iran Air, have struggled to
keep those planes, as well as aging and often
unreliable aircraft bought from Russia and other
former Soviet states, in service.
In July 2009, a Russian-built Tupolev passenger
jet operated by Caspian Airlines of Iran crashed
on its way to Yerevan, Armenia, killing all 168
passengers and crew members.
In December 2005, 108 people were killed when
an Iranian military plane, a Lockheed C-130,
crashed into a high-rise housing block outside
Tehran. The following November, a military plane
crashed on takeoff at Tehran ’s Mehrabad Airport,
killing 38 people.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/10/world/middleeast/10iran.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
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