Posted on 12/06/2005 10:04:56 AM PST by anymouse
TEHRAN, Iran - An Iranian military transport plane crashed after clipping a 10-story apartment building as it was trying to make an emergency landing Tuesday, ripping open the top of the structure and igniting a huge fire. At least 128 people were killed — 34 on the ground.
The plane was carrying Iranian journalists to cover military maneuvers in the south, and all 94 people on the aircraft were killed. In addition to the 34 residents of the apartment building who were killed, 90 were injured, Tehran state radio said.
Flames leaped out of windows and from the roof as panicked residents fled the Towhid residential complex, a series of high-rise apartment buildings for army personnel in the Azadi suburb of Tehran.
Most of the plane fell at the base of the building, smashing parked cars and damaging the structure's support columns. Witness Mohammad Khatibi said the fuselage fell nearly straight down after the wing hit the top of the building. Wreckage was scattered over a wide area.
Firefighters managed to put out the fire in the building, which was damaged and charred but still standing. Police cordoned off the area, preventing journalists and a crowd of thousands of people from getting near the site. Many in the crowd were screaming, afraid their relatives had been killed.
"It was like an earthquake," said Reza Sadeqi, a 25-year-old merchant, who saw the plane hit the building and added he was thrown about 9 feet inside his shop by the force of the crash.
"I felt the heat of the fire caused by the crash. It was like being in hell," he said.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was visiting Saudi Arabia, sent his condolences.
"Rescue teams are required to employ their maximum capability to save and help the survivors," state-run television quoted Ahmadinejad as saying. He asked one of his deputies to take charge and ensure survivors receive all the help necessary.
The C-130 aircraft had just taken off from the nearby Mehrabad Airport en route to the southern port of Bandar Abbas. The plane experienced a technical problem and was returning to the airport for an emergency landing when it hit the building, state-run television said, discounting sabotage or terrorism.
Witness Iraj Mordin told The Associated Press the plane appeared to be circling the airport when its tail suddenly burst into flames, leaving a smoke trail as it plummeted. He said he thought the plane was going to crash into a gas station and fled, but turned and saw it slam into what he thought was the building's eighth floor.
The plane, which belonged to the army air force, carried 84 passengers and a crew of 10, state TV reported. All aboard were killed, the mayor of Tehran, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, told the AP.
The C-130 is built by Lockheed and has four turboprop engines. The plane may have been sold to the Iranian air force when the United States had close relations with the Iranian monarch, Shah Reza Pahlavi, before the Islamic revolution in 1979.
In April, an Iranian military Boeing 707 with 157 people aboard skidded off a runway at Tehran airport and caught fire, killing three people. In 2003, a Russian-made Ilyushin-76 carrying members of the elite Revolutionary Guards crashed in the mountains of southeastern Iran, killing 302 people.
In 2002, a Ukrainian-built aircraft carrying aerospace scientists crashed in central Iran, killing all 44 people aboard. And in 1988, an Iran Air A300 Airbus was shot down by the USS Vincennes over the Persian Gulf, killing 290.
I guess these guys were just practicing their landings in foreign capitals. (/sarcasm)
don't u think you are a bit late on this?
The Not Quite Ready For Prime Time Warriors.
I wonder, was this plane hijacked by christians and slammed into the building? Nah, we know only one religion does that.
I feel horrible about this but it would be crocodile tears I shed here. If it is Iranians that died I just don't feel any pity for them at all.
An old C-130 from the days of the Shah...probably with no maintenance or spare parts since. The Iranian war machine may not be the tiger they think it is...(even with all that oil wealth).
Yes, after 9/11 I was going to say something about karmaic justice. But I pray for the innocents that died and those injured. It's just weird to see a story about a fascist muslim government have a plane crash into one of the buildings in their country.
Cutting corners on safety and maintenance? War preps?
Hmmmmmmmm.... No doubt, Bush's fault.
Maybe they were practicing..
The same thing that Islamic fanatics did to us on purpose, they did to themselves by accicent. I bet it didn't even take years of planning.
Devils playing with fire got burned.
"I felt the heat of the fire caused by the crash. It was like being in hell," he said.
Get used to the heat. It's about to get alot worse.
Or Israel with these clowns.
You do that if you have a normal country and a normal military. In a way, I find this an interesting indication. Note that before Desert Storm, Saddam's military strength was made out to be more than it actually turned out to be. Iran may be another case like this.
Hoe long will it take for the Iranian government to blame the US and Israel?
Any guess as to why the tail would catch fire? Thank you, for your service.
Note to all Iranians. No dancing in the streets of America has been reported.
???
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