Posted on 07/15/2009 2:54:11 AM PDT by Zakeet
State TV says 168 people were killed when a passenger plane crashed Wednesday in northwest Iran.
Iranian Civil Aviation Organization spokesman Reza Jafarzadeh had told state television that 153 passengers and 15 crewmembers were on the Russian-made Caspian Airlines jet that had been headed from Tehran to the Armenian capital yerevan.
Footage from the scene on state-run Press TV shows a deep trench smashed into an agricultural field by the impact, littered with smoking wreckage. It showed a large chunk of a wing, but much of the wreckage appeared to be in small pieces.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - A passenger plane carrying 150 people crashed Wednesday in northwest Iran, and all on board were feared dead, state media reported.
The Caspian Airlines jet was heading from Tehran to the Armenian capital Yerevan when it crashed near the village of Jannatabad outside the city of Qazvin, around 75 miles northwest of Tehran, state television said.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
I guess Armenians on the way to Erivan. These days in July the Armenian Christians celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord (Vardavar). Could be a reason for Armenians from Iran travelling to Armenia.
How convenient.
A planeload of Armenian Christians wiped out.
My guess is that Amahdi-jihad is thinking, “Good start.”
Strangely enough nutjob isn’t that unpopular in Armenia (which also maintains close ties with Russia and has Russian troops based).
Iran and Armenia (despite being Christian) are largely eye-to-eye on the issue of the other neighbour Azerbaijan (Shia... which is however very close to the US).
Guess politics trump religious feelings.
Thanks for the education!
> Guess politics trump religious feelings.
Actually, I’m not surprised. Islam is more a political movement than a religious one. The religious aspect is to help keep the superstitious suckers in line.
It’s a very old gag.
Thank you for this news alert. Very tragic, and I pray for all touched by this event.
RIP.
Airbus? They have been having an issue with staying in the sky.
I was just in the other room talking to my wife whom had the TV on watching the news program that was on.
The subject of the crashed plane came up, and the news reader person thing went on about how the Iranian Government blames the US for the crash as they couldn’t get parts for the aging aircraft. Then went onto more crap about Michael Jackson....
I found it interesting the news media would drop the article at the point it is all our fault the Iranians cannot keep their Russian built aircraft in the air because of sanctions imposed by the U.S. when they can get anything else they want from Russia with greatest of ease.
OTOH, it could have been a planeload of (executed) protesters.
This is not a dig on American air transportation safety, far from it. Just to point out that at its very best commercial air travel is a complicated, expensive operation with way too many ways to go wrong to be trusted to the likes of a third-world country!
I agree, prayers for all involved. It's a tragedy regardless of how one might feel about that part of the world.
The article said “Russian-made,” so not an Airbus.
}:-)4
Folks on airliners.net are saying it’s a Russian-built Tupolev Tu-154M. It’s a 1980s-vintage three-engined medium-haul jet that looks much like a Boeing 727, only a little larger. It’s still a workhorse of a lot of ex-Soviet airlines but doesn’t fly much into the West anymore due to noise restrictions. 153 passengers and 15 crew sounds like almost a full load.
}:-)4
...the Russian-made Caspian Airlines jet...
Iran TV: 150 people on board crashed plane
Reuters | 07/15/09
Posted on 07/15/2009 2:50:16 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2292936/posts
168 reportedly killed in Iran plane crash
AP via Yahoo! | By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer
Posted on 07/15/2009 4:07:50 AM PDT by F15Eagle
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2292960/posts
In Hizballah's backyard.
Here’s (allegedly) the airplane that crashed:
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Caspian-Airlines/Tupolev-Tu-154M/1553477/M/
}:-)4
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