Date & Time: Jun 9, 1996 at 1455 LT
Type of aircraft:
Boeing 727-200
Operator:
Registration:
EP-IRU
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Rasht - Rasht
MSN:
21079
YOM:
1975
Country:
Iran
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
4
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
The crew departed Tehran-Mehrabad Airport at 1233LT on a training flight to Rasht. Following 14 touch-and-go manoeuvres completed successfully, the crew approached the airport but forgot to lower the landing gear. The aircraft landed on its belly and slid on runway 09 for a period of 30 seconds and on a distance of 2,100 metres. Despite the situation, the crew decided to take off again and continued to climb when the rear fuselage caught fire. The crew declared an emergency, extended the undercarriage manually and was cleared to land on runway 09. On final approach, the aircraft became unstable, lost height and crashed in a field located 5 km short of runway. Four crew members were killed while three others were injured. The aircraft was destroyed. §
Probable cause:
The following findings were reported:
- The crew failed to follow the approach checklist,
- The crew forgot to lower the landing gear,
- Poor crew coordination,
- Lack of crew resources management,
- Wrong decision on part of the crew to take off following a belly landing,
- Following the belly landing, the aircraft suffered a fire and was not fit to fly.