Accident
The aircraft, bound for Bandar Abbas on the Persian Gulf, was carrying 10 crew and 84 passengers, [1] of whom 68 were reportedly journalists en route to watch a series of military exercises off the country's southern coast.
Shortly after takeoff, the pilot reported engine problems and unsuccessfully attempted to make an emergency landing at the city's Mehrabad International Airport, from which the aircraft had departed. The aircraft came down in a densely populated area of Hasanabad-e Baqeraf, near Tehran, crashing into an apartment building where many Iranian air force personnel resided.
Iranian State media reported a death toll of 128 victims, and some other news agencies reported a toll of 116. [2] However, an official accident report created by the Aviation Safety Network stated that 106 people had died, including 12 on the ground. All 94 on board the aircraft were killed.
Casualties
Tehran mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that all 94 people on board, including 40 journalists, were killed upon impact. State radio reported at least 34 people were confirmed dead on the ground, putting the official death toll at 128. An Interior Ministry Spokesperson, Mojtaba Mir-Abdolahi, confirmed that 116 bodies were recovered from the site. However, it was later determined by the Aviation Safety Network that 12 people on the ground had died in the crash. [3]
The Mehr news agency reported that 40 journalists on board worked for the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, and the others were from the Islamic Republic News Agency, Iranian Students' News Agency and Fars News Agency, and several newspapers. [1]
Iason Sowden of Global Radio News in Tehran said there were reports of charred bodies on the ground near the crash site. Sowden also said that one wing of the plane was lying in front of the building. Initial pictures shown on Sky News and CNN showed complete chaos at the scene. Earlier in the day, all children were advised to stay at home due to high levels of smog and pollution. [4]
Reuters reported that 28 people were transported to a nearby hospital. Iranian state radio reported that 90 people sustained serious injuries. [5] The head of Tehran's rescue services was quoted in an interview with the Iranian Students' News Agency as saying that 132 people had been injured.
The Airline of the Islamic Republic of Iran, branded as Iran Air, is the flag carrier of Iran, which is headquartered at Mehrabad Airport in Tehran. As of 2023, it operates scheduled services to 72 destinations in Asia and Europe. Iran Air's main bases are Imam Khomeini International Airport and Mehrabad International Airport, both serving Tehran, the capital of Iran. Domestically, Iran Air is commonly known as Homa, which is the name of a mythical Persian phoenix or griffin, and also the acronym of Iran National Airlines in the Persian language. The airline's cargo division, Iran Air Cargo, operates scheduled services internationally using one cargo aircraft.
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1980.
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The 2001 Faraz Qeshm Airlines Yak-40 crash occurred on 17 May 2001 when a short-haul trijet Yakovlev Yak-40 being operated by Faraz Qeshm Airlines crashed while en route to Gorgan Airport from Tehran-Mehrabad Airport in Iran. The aircraft crashed in mountainous terrain while flying in poor weather conditions about twenty kilometers south of Sari killing all thirty people on board. Passengers aboard the aircraft included Rahman Dadman, Iran's Minister of Roads and Transportation, and six members of parliament.
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On 11 March 2018, a Bombardier Challenger 604 private jet, owned by Turkish group Başaran Holding, crashed in the Zagros Mountains near Shahr-e Kord, Iran, while returning to Istanbul from Sharjah. All three crew members and eight passengers on board were killed.
On 14 January 2019, a Boeing 707 operated by Saha Airlines on a cargo flight crashed at Fath Air Base, near Karaj, Alborz Province in Iran. Fifteen of the sixteen people on board were killed. This aircraft was the last civil Boeing 707 in operation.
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