Posted on 02/20/2003 2:35:49 PM PST by knighthawk
Bad weather is being cited as the prime cause of Iran’s worst air disaster, in which an Ilyushin Il-76 military transport aircraft crashed in a mountainous region of southeast Iran yesterday evening, killing all 302 people on board. However, a glance at Jane’s reference data suggests that overloading of the aircraft may well have been a contributory factor.
As of yesterday, the Iranian military had around 15 Il-76MD ‘Candid-Bs’ in service, many of which were originally in Iraq’s inventory and were impounded by Iran following the exodus of Baghdad’s military air assets after the launch of Operation ‘Desert Storm’ in 1990. According to Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft, the Il-76M/MD has a carrying capacity of “up to 140 troops or 125 paratroops carried as an alternative to freight”. The aircraft in question was, in fact, carrying 18 crew and 284 troops belonging to the elite Pasdaran (Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps) – twice the standard load for that type of aircraft.
A third factor that must be considered with Iranian aviation is poor maintenance. US sanctions have cut off spares for American-built airframes, while spare parts acquired for the many ex-Soviet types in Iranian service are often substandard.
Contact was lost with the aircraft, which was on an internal flight from Zahedan to Kerman, at around 17.30 local time (14.00 GMT). It crashed about 35km southeast of Kerman. BBC News has quoted the Kerman state governor, Mohammad Ali Karimi, as saying: “In his last radio contact, the pilot said: ‘I am trying to approach the airport; maybe the weather conditions will get better’.” Poor weather and heavy snow have so far hampered efforts to recover the aircraft’s flight data recorder.
Iran’s flight safety record is not good, with more than 500 people having died as a result of air crashes over the last decade:
On 23 December 2002, a Ukrainian-built Antonov An-140 carrying aerospace experts flew into a mountainside while preparing to land near the city of Isfahan, killing all 44 people aboard. The delegation had been due to review an Iranian licence-built version of the same aircraft. Pilot error was cited as the cause of the crash. On 24 February 2002, an Il-76 – also reportedly carrying Pasdaran – had to make an emergency landing when a fire reportedly broke out on board after it took off from the north-eastern city of Mashad. On 12 February 2002 a Tupolev Tu-154M operated by Iran Air crashed into the Sefid-Kouh mountain in western Iran while descending for Khorramabad, killing all 119 on board. On 17 May 2001 a Yakovlev 40 operated by Faraz Qeshm Airlines crashed after taking off from Tehran with Iranian transport minister Rahman Dadman on board. All 29 on the flight were killed. On 2 February 2000 an Iranian Air Force C-130 Hercules lost control while taking off on a training flight and struck an empty Iran Air A300 being towed to a hangar. Both aircraft were destroyed by fire and there were eight ground fatalities. On 13 March 1997 86 people were killed when an Iranian Air Force C-130 crashed in northeast Iran after reporting engine problems. On 9 June 1996 an Iran Air Boeing 727 crashed in paddy fields after the 15th touch and go during a training flight, killing four of the seven crew on board. On 12 October 1994 an Iran Asseman Airlines Fokker F-28 Fellowship 1000 struck a mountain after taking off from Natanz and suffering a sudden loss of power to both engines. All 66 on board died. On 15 November 1993 an Antonov An-124 operated by Aviastar crashed into a mountain near Kerman airport after deviating from its holding pattern, killing all 17 on board. On 8 February 1993 an Iran Air Tours Tu-154M suffered a mid-air collision with an Iranian Air Force Sukhoi Su-22 shortly after taking off from Tehran Airport, killing 133.
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