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SCORES KILLED IN IRAN PLANE CRASH
BBC NEWS
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/m iddle_east/8151327.stm
2009/07/15 11:59:30 GMT
All 168 passengers and crew have died in a Caspian Airlines plane
crash in the north of Iran, officials say.
Wreckage was spread over a large area in a field in Jannatabad village,
Qazvin province, about 75 miles (120km) north-west of Tehran, state
TV said.
The Tupolev plane was flying from the Iranian capital to Yerevan in
Armenia, with mostly Armenian passengers.
The cause of the crash, which happened soon after take-off, was not
known. Witnesses said it dropped from the sky.
"The 7908 Caspian flight crashed 16 minutes after its take-off from
the International Imam Khomeini Airport," Iran's Aviation Organisation
spokesman, Reza Jafarzadeh, was quoted by Iranian Press TV as saying.
An eyewitness said the plane dropped out of the sky and exploded
on impact.
Iranian media reported officials confirming the deaths.
Mohammad Reza Montazer Khorasan, the head of the disaster management
centre at Iran's health ministry said: "All people aboard... the
crashed plane are dead," according to AFP news agency.
The Qazvin Fire Department Chief said residents began calling emergency
services about noon local time after seeing thick smoke.
"After going to the crash scene and scouting, we found that the area
of the disaster is very wide and wreckage of=2 0the crashed plane
have been thrown around as far as 150 to 200m," he said.
Television footage showed a massive crater in a field, with smouldering
debris over a wide area.
>From Jon Leyne, BBC correspondent: Iran has a notoriously bad air
safety record. Because of sanctions imposed by the United States,
Iran relies on an increasingly ageing fleet of airliners, and has
trouble buying spares. There are tales of aircrew buying spare
parts on flights to Europe, then sneaking them back to Iran in the
cockpit. While those sanctions don't apply to aircraft from Russia
and Ukraine, many planes from those countries in the Iranian fleet
also appear well past their best.
For some people, flying in Iran can be a nerve-wracking
experience. Stepping on board, it often becomes quickly apparent you
are in a plane that has done many years service.
There are also frequent delays because of the shortage of
aircraft. Iranian engineers and aircrew do their best to keep their
fleets in service.
Mr Jafarzadeh said there were no irregularities reported before the
plane took off.
"The regulations of the State Aviation Organisation do not allow a
plane to take off before security of the plane is 100% approved,"
he told Iranian television.
"As to why this happened and what problem the plane ran into, we
will need to carry out a thorough investigation of all contributing
elements."
The plane was built in Russia in 1987.
A Caspian Airlines representative told Associated Press news agency
that most of the passengers were Armenians, with some Georgian citizens
also on board.
It was unclear if other nationalities were involved.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad offered his condolences to the
families of the victims.
Ten members of Iran's national junior judo team were reported to be
on the plane, ahead of training with the Armenian team.
IRANIAN PLANE CRASHES
â~@¢6 December, 2005: A C-130 military transport plane crashes on
the outskirts of the Iranian capital Tehran, killing 110 people,
including some on the ground â~@¢19 February, 2003: An Iranian military
transport aircraft carrying 276 people crashes in the south of the
country, killing all on board â~@¢23 December, 2002: An Antonov 140
commuter plane carrying aerospace experts crashes in central Iran,
killing all 46 people on board
The BBC's Jon Leyne said the country was reliant on air transport,
but it had been three years since the last crash.
The civil and military fleets are made up of elderly aircraft, in
poor condition due to their age and lack of maintenance.
Since Iran's Islamic revolution of 1979, trade embargoes by Western
nations have forced Iran to buy mainly Russian-built planes to
supplement an existing fleet of Boeings and other American and
European models.
BBC NEWS
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/m iddle_east/8151327.stm
2009/07/15 11:59:30 GMT
All 168 passengers and crew have died in a Caspian Airlines plane
crash in the north of Iran, officials say.
Wreckage was spread over a large area in a field in Jannatabad village,
Qazvin province, about 75 miles (120km) north-west of Tehran, state
TV said.
The Tupolev plane was flying from the Iranian capital to Yerevan in
Armenia, with mostly Armenian passengers.
The cause of the crash, which happened soon after take-off, was not
known. Witnesses said it dropped from the sky.
"The 7908 Caspian flight crashed 16 minutes after its take-off from
the International Imam Khomeini Airport," Iran's Aviation Organisation
spokesman, Reza Jafarzadeh, was quoted by Iranian Press TV as saying.
An eyewitness said the plane dropped out of the sky and exploded
on impact.
Iranian media reported officials confirming the deaths.
Mohammad Reza Montazer Khorasan, the head of the disaster management
centre at Iran's health ministry said: "All people aboard... the
crashed plane are dead," according to AFP news agency.
The Qazvin Fire Department Chief said residents began calling emergency
services about noon local time after seeing thick smoke.
"After going to the crash scene and scouting, we found that the area
of the disaster is very wide and wreckage of=2 0the crashed plane
have been thrown around as far as 150 to 200m," he said.
Television footage showed a massive crater in a field, with smouldering
debris over a wide area.
>From Jon Leyne, BBC correspondent: Iran has a notoriously bad air
safety record. Because of sanctions imposed by the United States,
Iran relies on an increasingly ageing fleet of airliners, and has
trouble buying spares. There are tales of aircrew buying spare
parts on flights to Europe, then sneaking them back to Iran in the
cockpit. While those sanctions don't apply to aircraft from Russia
and Ukraine, many planes from those countries in the Iranian fleet
also appear well past their best.
For some people, flying in Iran can be a nerve-wracking
experience. Stepping on board, it often becomes quickly apparent you
are in a plane that has done many years service.
There are also frequent delays because of the shortage of
aircraft. Iranian engineers and aircrew do their best to keep their
fleets in service.
Mr Jafarzadeh said there were no irregularities reported before the
plane took off.
"The regulations of the State Aviation Organisation do not allow a
plane to take off before security of the plane is 100% approved,"
he told Iranian television.
"As to why this happened and what problem the plane ran into, we
will need to carry out a thorough investigation of all contributing
elements."
The plane was built in Russia in 1987.
A Caspian Airlines representative told Associated Press news agency
that most of the passengers were Armenians, with some Georgian citizens
also on board.
It was unclear if other nationalities were involved.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad offered his condolences to the
families of the victims.
Ten members of Iran's national junior judo team were reported to be
on the plane, ahead of training with the Armenian team.
IRANIAN PLANE CRASHES
â~@¢6 December, 2005: A C-130 military transport plane crashes on
the outskirts of the Iranian capital Tehran, killing 110 people,
including some on the ground â~@¢19 February, 2003: An Iranian military
transport aircraft carrying 276 people crashes in the south of the
country, killing all on board â~@¢23 December, 2002: An Antonov 140
commuter plane carrying aerospace experts crashes in central Iran,
killing all 46 people on board
The BBC's Jon Leyne said the country was reliant on air transport,
but it had been three years since the last crash.
The civil and military fleets are made up of elderly aircraft, in
poor condition due to their age and lack of maintenance.
Since Iran's Islamic revolution of 1979, trade embargoes by Western
nations have forced Iran to buy mainly Russian-built planes to
supplement an existing fleet of Boeings and other American and
European models.