Zahedan

The twin engine aircraft was flying to Zahedan with a crew of three (two pilots and a flight attendant) and four passengers, among them General Mahmoud Sadeqi, a senior police officer who was travelling to Zahedan to investigate the circumstances of a recent attack that killed four police officers. While approaching Zahedan by night, the crew failed to realize his altitude was too low when the airplane struck the slope of a mountain located in the Sabzpushan Heights, north of the airport. The wreckage was found the following morning. All seven occupants were killed. A day later, Iranian Authorities said the accident was caused by technical flaws, darkness and the pilot’s unfamiliarity with the region.

On approach to Zahedan Airport, the crew followed the checklist and configured the aircraft for landing when he realized that the left main gear remained stuck in its wheel well. The crew abandoned the landing manoeuvre and initiated a go-around procedure. During an hour, the crew followed a holding circuit to burn fuel and also to try to lower the left main landing gear but without success. Eventually, the crew was cleared to land on runway 35. After touchdown, the aircraft rolled for about 1,500 metres then veered off runway to the left before coming to rest in a sandy area. All 103 occupants evacuated safely and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The four engine aircraft departed Zahedan on a flight to Kerman, carrying 257 passengers and a crew of 18, most of them members of the Revolutionary Guards. On board were also several high ranking officers who just conducted a visit of the province of Zahedan, taking part to a narcotic control program. While descending to Kerman Airport by night, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with heavy snow falls and strong winds. On approach, the aircraft struck the slope of Mt Sirach located 32 km from the airport. First rescuers arrived on the scene the next morning. The wreckage was found about 100 metres below the summit and all 275 occupants have been killed.

While approaching Zahedan Airport by night, the crew descended below the minimum safe altitude of 6,500 feet when the aircraft struck the slope of a mountain located 11 km from the airfield. All 103 occupants were killed, among them 96 soldiers who were transferred to the westfront. An altimeter misreading or a wrong altimeter setting may be a contributing factor.

While descending to Zahedan Airport in limited visibility on a cargo flight from Karachi, the airplane struck a mountain and crashed near Saindak, at the Iran-Pakistan border. The aircraft was destroyed and all four crew members were killed. Controlled flight into terrain suspected.