Iran: Military plane hits wall, one survives among 16 crew-members
The Iranian army confirmed a Boeing 707 military cargo plane crashed in bad weather on Monday. The accident took place in Karaj, 40kms west of Tehran. The aircraft hit a wall while trying to make an emergency landing at Fath Airport, Karaj. Of the 16 people on board, one reportedly survived. The lone survivor is a flight engineer and was rushed to the hospital.
The meat-carrying plane tried to land, hit a wall
The unfortunate aircraft was carrying a cargo of meat from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan's capital, to Iran. The crew declared an emergency and attempted a landing. However, the plane skidded off the runway and slammed a wall. The plane was engulfed in flames when emergency services arrived. The Iranian air force said the fate of the crew and possible 'martyrdom' is under investigation.
Plane was supposed to land at another airport
Notably, the plane which landed at Fath Airport was supposed to land at another nearby one. Local sources claimed the pilot mistakenly landed at the airport and the bad weather contributed to the crash. Boeing 707s are operated by the Iranian army.
The owner of plane couldn't be immediately ascertained
After the incident was reported, there was some confusion over who owned the plane. A spokesperson of Iran's civil aviation claimed the plane belonged to Kyrgyzstan, but another person at Kyrgyzstan's Manas Airport said the aircraft belonged to Iran's Payam Air. Later, General Shahin Taghikhani, an army spokesman, told state TV that the plane and passengers were Iranian.
