20 aircraft accidents in Iran since 2000

The McDonnell Douglas MD-83 operated by Caspian Airlines took off from Tehran, Iran, for a passenger flight to Mahshahr, Iran. 136 passengers and 8 crewmembers were onboard. The plane overran the end of the runway after landing on Mahshar's airport, broke through the airport perimeter fence and came to a stop 90 meters beyond the paved end of the runway stopway in the middle of a road. There were no injury, but the aircraft received substantial damage.

The Boeing 737-800, operated by UIA Ukraine International Airlines, took off from Tehran, Iran, for a passenger flight to Kiev, Ukraine. 167 passengers and 9 crewmembers were onboard. The plane crashed minutes after takeoff. Radar contact was lost with the aircraft while it was climbing through 8000 feet, about 12NM (22 km) northwest of the Tehran airport. The crash site has been rapidly located: the Boeing 737 has been completely destroyed. All 176 people onboard have been killed. It has been confirmed on January 11th that the plane has been shot down by a missile.

The Boeing 707-300 freighter operated by Saha Airlines took off from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, for a cargo flight to Karaj, Iran. 16 crewmembers were onboard. The plane was on approach to Karaj's Payam Airport in adverse weather conditions but mistakenly landed on Fath's airport (both airports are close together). The runway at Fath's airport being more than three times shorter, the plane overran the runway and crashed in a residential area past the end of the runway and burst into flames. 15 occupants were killed in the accident, and one flight engineer survived.

The ATR-72-212 operated by Iran Aseman took off from Tehran, Iran, for a passenger flight to Yasuj, Iran. 60 passengers and 6 crewmembers were onboard. The plane disappeared from radar near the Zagroz Mountains. The wreckage was found 30 meters below the peak of the mountains south of Noqol. All 66 people onboard were killed. The crew was cleared to join the approach procedure to Yasuj. The crew did not indicate any emergency or abnormal situation on board. Communication with the aircraft was lost about 85 minutes after departure from Tehran. The aerodrome of Yasuj is surrounded by high mountains. Those mountains were covered by clouds at the time of the accident. Flight data recorders analysis indicates that while approaching Yasuj, the aircraft levelled off at 15,000 ft on autopilot for 1 minute. Then the engines were reduced to idle, the speed reduced to 200 KIAS with the angle of attack increasing, the engines get slightly accelerated. The speed continued to decrease and reached 129 KIAS (minimum maneuvering speed 132 KIAS), the pitch reaches 15 degrees nose up, the engines accelerate. The altitude target is set to 14,000 ft and the aircraft begins to descend at about 600fpm. The speed further reduces to 117 KIAS, a stall warning activates, the crew disengages the autopilot, the aircraft rolls 20 degrees to the left, the pitch reduces to about 9 degrees nose down. Descending through 14200 ft at 137 KIAS the autopilot gets re-engaged, the aircraft rolls right by 12 degrees, the pitch increases to 5 degrees nose down. A GPWS warning "TERRAIN AHEAD! PULL UP!" activates, the autopilot is disengaged, the GPWS warning continues for 12 seconds until impact. Iran investigation boards stated that the crew should have maintained 17,000 ft in accordance with the flight plan, however, descended the aircraft to 15,000 ft followed by a target altitude of 14,000 ft on the autopilot contrary to flight rules. In addition, while the crew was permitted to conduct the flight with the weather data available at the time of departure, the latest weather information provided by Yasuj Tower indicating clouds up to 15,000 ft prohibited the approach to Yasuj according to company procedures due to cloud cover present at the aerodrome, the crew should have diverted to Shiraz or Isfahan planned as alternate aerodromes.

The Hesa IrAn-140-100 (a licensed version of the Antonov AN-140 produced by Hesa in Iran) operated by Sepahan Airlines took off from Tehran, Iran, for a passenger flight to Tabas, Iran. 42 passengers and 6 crewmembers were onboard. The aircraft lost height after takeoff, and crashed. 37 occupants died in the crash, and 11 occupants have been seriously injured. There were no injuries or casualties on the ground. The plane suffered a technical malfunction of the right hand engine immediately after takeoff. The crew reported a problem and tried to come back to the airport, but they did not make it. The plane crashed into a residential area near the Liberty/Azadi Stadium about 1.6 km North-West of the runway end.

The Tupolev 154M, belonging to Taban Air took off from Abadan, Iran, bound for Mashhad, Iran. 157 passengers and 13 crew members were onboard. The aircraft crash landed and caught fire at Mashhad Airport. Some 46 people reported injured and hospitalized. The flight originated in Abadan Airport, and initially diverted to Isfahan because of poor weather at Mashhad Airport. It landed uneventfully at Isfahan, and took off later to eventually reach its destination airport. However, bad weather was still prevailing when the plane landed, and the Tupolev 154 left the runway and the tail broke apart. The accident was immediately followed by a fire in the aft part of the plane.

The Ilyushin 76-MD belonging to the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) was destroyed in an accident in the village of Vali Abad, Iran, near the capital Tehran. All 7 people onboard were killed. The report said the crash took place in Qarchak, an area close to where an army parade was taking place. First reports said that the Iranian warplane had crashed in Qarchak during an aerial maneuver carried out to celebrate the national Sacred Defense Week. But this was then denied by the IRIAF, which stated that the crash of the plane during training in Qarchak had no links with the aerial maneuver. The Ilyushin 76-MD that crashed is a militarised IL-76, with a radar installed on the top of the fuselage. The aircraft is used in military operation as a flying radar.

The Aria Air Ilyushin 62M arrived at Mashhad, Iran, following a domestic flight from Tehran, Iran. 153 passengers and crewmembers were onboard. The plane crash-landed when it landed at Mashhad. Among those onboard, 16 people were killed and 31 were wounded. The airplane flew too fast during the approach and landing. The usual landing speed for an Il-62 would have been between 125 and 145 kts, yet the plane landed at a speed of 170 kts. In addition, the plane touched down halfway on the 12500 feet (3800 m) long asphalt runway, meaning that the remaining distance available was clearly not enough to stop the plane before the end of the runway. The IL-62M overshot the runway and collided with a wall located more than 1100 meters from runway. Weather conditions at the time of the accident showed the plane made a cross-wind landing, with moderate winds reported. Photos of the crash scene show the plane resting on its tail next to a field, the nose section completely ripped off. Further to this accident, the licence of Aria Airlines had been revoked.

The Caspian Airlines Tupolev 154M passenger plane was destroyed when it struck terrain near Qazvin, Iran, 16 minutes after takeoff. The airplane was en route from Tehran, Iran to Yerevan, Armenia. 153 passengers and 15 crewmembers were onboard. All 168 people aboard were killed. A few minutes after takeoff, the plane reached the altitude of 34000 feet (around 10000 m). The Tupolev 154 was in normal operation at that altitude. Three minutes before the crash, the plane suddenly turned 270 degrees and entered a rapid descent to 14000 feet (around 4200 m) in just 90 seconds. Air traffic controllers attempted to contact the flight, but there was no response. They asked two planes that were in the area to contact the doomed plane, but these attempts failed too. It crashed about 16 minutes after takeoff near the village of Jannat Abad outside the city of Qazvin, around 75 miles (120 km) northwest of Tehran. The airplane exploded on impact and disintegrated. The impact gouged a deep trench in the dirt field (a 10 meters deep crater), which was littered with smoking wreckage and body parts. Much of the wreckage was in small shreds. The plane suffered technical problem and was trying to find a place to land, when it crashed. Witnesses reported that the tail and at least one of the tail engines were on fire as the plane plummeted.

An Iranian military Antonov-74 plane heading towards the southern Iranian city of Shiraz on a military mission crashed at Tehran International Mehrabad Airport, Iran, immediately after take-off. The Russian-made airplane belonged to the Islamic Revolution's Guard Corps (IRGC) and was on an ordinary military mission. During take-off, one of its two engines caught fire. The airplane lost thrust and was not able to gain altitude. Then, the crash was unavoidable. The plane burst into flames when it impacted the ground. 30 revolutionary guards along with the plane's six crew were killed. Two of the plane's passengers, both revolutionary guards, survived. The root cause of the accident is probably a technical failure of the engine due to a bad maintenance. Revolutionary Guards Commander-in-Chief has denied that sabotage is likely to be a cause. Air safety experts say Iran has a poor record, with a string of crashes involving Russian-made aircraft having occurred in recent decades. Sanctions imposed by the United States and insufficient technical maintenance are a major headache for military and civil aviation in Iran and the main reasons for the frequent crashes in the country. Indeed, Iran is not allowed to buy modern American or European aircraft and, therefore, buy old Russian aircraft. Moreover, the country has a lot of difficulties to get the tools and parts necessary to maintain properly its aging fleet.

The flight by Iran Airtour, which is affiliated with Iran's national air carrier, was arriving from Bandar Abbas on Iran's southern coast when the accident occurred. It skidded off the runway as it was landing to Mashad Airport (MHD/OIMM), Iran, and raked its wing along the ground, sparking a fire that killed 29 of the 148 people on board. Survivors said the plane was shaking after landing. A survivor also said that he heard a huge sound from underneath the plane. Then they feel the plane lurching to the left and sliding on the ground. Finally a fire started from the front of the plane, and all the passengers rushed to the emergency exit. The root cause of the accident could be one or several tyres burst, resulting in a decrease of the braking efficiency, and a lost of the landing trajectory control. Pictures showed a broken-up plane with parts of its fuselage charred. The cockpit appeared largely unaffected by the fire, as did much of the rear portion of the aircraft.

The Armenian AN-12 belonging to Phoenix Avia departed Payam Airport, Iran, for a cargo flight to Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. A few seconds after take-off, the aircraft collided in a flock of birds. It led three out of four engines to fail. The crew reported technical problems on three engines and decided to return to the airport. Eventually, an emergency landing was carried out 5 kilometers of the airport. The plane was gutted by flames after all 12 people on board and the cargo were safely evacuated. 4 crewmembers suffered minor injuries.

An Iranian military transport plane crashed into a residential area, in the south of Teheran (Iran), as it was trying to make an emergency landing on the Teheran-Mehrabad airport, igniting a huge fire. The Lockheed C-130 aircraft, which belonged to the army air force, had just taken off from the nearby Teheran-Mehrabad Airport en route to the southern port of Bandar Abbas. 84 passengers and 10 crew members were onboard. The plane was carrying many journalists. The crew reported engine problems and requested an emergency landing. The plane was returning to the airport when it hit a 10-story building. All aboard were killed. A witness said the plane appeared to be circling the airport when its tail suddenly burst into flames, leaving a smoke trail as it plummeted.

The aircraft was on a scheduled passenger flight from the Gulf city of Kish to Tehran. It landed on its destination airport. But due to a failure of the aircraft's landing gear, the plane wasn't able to brake correctly and ran the length of the runway, then continued several hundred metres through the grass and up to the river, which lies on the airport's perimeter. Rescued passengers said the plane had problems right from take off and landed too fast. The emergency slides did not work, and several passengers jumped out and fell three metres. Several people suffered broken arms and legs, in total 80 people got injured. Three passengers were killed after falling into the river during evacuation.

The aircraft was on a flight from Zahedan to Kerman. It crashed 330 feet below the peak of Sirach Mountain approximately 35nm southeast of Kerman. Weather at the time of the accident was poor. All 275 passengers and crew members were killed in the accident.

The aircraft departed Sokolniki Airfield in Kharkov for a passenger flight to Isfahan, with an intermediate stop at Trobson (Turkey). While approaching Isfahan, the aircraft impacted the side of a mountain and crashed. Weather at the time of the accident was poor, with heavy fog reported. All 46 people aboard were killed. The aircraft had been just delivered to the airline, and had carried out only 27 landings while flying 71 hours in its lifetime.

The aircraft was on a passenger flight from Tehran (Iran) to Khorramabad (Iran). The TU-154 crashed into mountainous terrain in poor weather conditions while on approach to Khorramabad. All 118 passengers and crew members onboard were killed.

The Yak-40 departed Tehran (Iran) for a passenger flight to Gorgan where a new airport was to be opened. The aircraft carried Iranian Transport Minister, two deputy ministers, and seven members of parliament. Poor weather at Gorgan reportedly forced the crew to divert to Sari (Iran). It was later found to have crashed in a forested area in the Elburz mountains. All 30 people onboard were killed.