Iran Air Flight 291
1980 deadly plane crash in Tehran, Iran
35°44′N 51°25′E / 35.733°N 51.417°E / 35.733; 51.417Iran Air Flight 291 was a flight from Mashad Airport to Tehran-Mehrabad Airport that crashed on 21 January 1980 during its approach to Tehran-Mehrabad runway 29 in foggy and snowy weather conditions, killing all 128 people on board. At the time, Iran Air Flight 291 was the deadliest aircraft disaster in Iranian history.[1][2]
Aircraft
The aircraft involved was Boeing 727-86 with registration EP-IRD (factory no. 19817, serial no. 537) was built in 1968 and made its first flight on 17 February. The aircraft was powered by three Pratt & Whitney JT8D-7B turbofan engines.[1]
Accident
On the day of the accident, Iranian air traffic controllers went on strike, which led to hundreds of domestic flights being cancelled. Then at 16:00 the strike was interrupted, and flights resumed. At 17:40, Flight 291 departed from Mashad Airport bound for Tehran-Mehrabad Airport in Iran. There were 8 crew members and 120 passengers on board (initial reports stated that there were 8 crew members and 116 passengers).[2]
At 18:52 local time, the controller at Mehrabad airport in Tehran gave the crew a direct approach to runway 29. Then at about 19:05, the dispatcher instructed the crew to take a 360° heading to reach the non-directional beacon of the Varamin approach. Without receiving instructions from the controller, the pilots were 17 miles (15 nmi; 27 km) off course to the north. During the approach, the first officer told the captain that the VORTAC was giving the wrong radial course, but he did not respond to this message. At 19:11 local time, the aircraft collided with the Alborz Mountains, 29 kilometres (18 mi; 16 nmi) north of Tehran. All 8 crew members and 120 passengers died in the crash.[3]
Cause
Investigators concluded that the probable cause of the crash was believed to be an inoperable instrument landing system and ground radar. The head of Iran's Civil Aviation Authority and five other officials were charged with manslaughter as a result of the crash of Flight 291.[4][5]
References
- ^ a b Accident description for Boeing 727-86 EP-IRD at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 28 December 2016.
- ^ a b "Iran Air Boeing crashes". Observer-Reporter. Associated Press. 1980-01-22. pp. A-15. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
- ^ "128 feared dead in Iran Air Crash". The Miami News. 1980-01-22. Archived from the original on 2013-01-24.
- ^ Gero, David (1996). Aviation Disasters Second Edition. Patrick Stephens Limited. p. 161.
- ^ "سانحه بوئینگ 727 ایران ایر در کوه های لشکرک" [Boeing 727 Iran Air in Lashkar Gah Mountains]. Cann News (in Persian). Archived from the original on 2022-10-03. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
External links
- Airport situation following the crash on YouTube from Associated Press Archive
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Aviation accidents and incidents in Iran
- Jask Imperial Airways de Havilland Hercules crash (September 1929)
- KLM Bushehr incident (July 1935)
- Misrair SNCASE Languedoc crash (December 1951)
- Sterling Airways Flight 901 (March 1974)
- Tehran UFO incident (September 1976)
- Iran Air Flight 291 (January 1980)
- Iranian Air Force C-130 crash (September 1981)
- Kuwait Airways Flight 422 (April 1988)
- Iran Air Flight 655 (July 1988)
- Tehran mid-air collision (February 1993)
- Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 746 (October 1994)
- Faraz Qeshm Airlines Yak-40 crash (May 2001)
- Iran Air Tours Flight 956 (February 2002)
- Aeromist-Kharkiv Flight 2137 (December 2002)
- Iran Ilyushin Il-76 crash (February 2003)
- Iranian Air Force C-130 crash (December 2005)
- Iran Air Tours Flight 945 (September 2006)
- Caspian Airlines Flight 7908 (July 2009)
- Aria Air Flight 1525 (July 2009)
- Iranian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 accident (September 2009)
- Taban Air Flight 6437 (January 2010)
- Iran Air Flight 277 (January 2011)
- Iran Air Flight 742 (October 2011)
- Iran–U.S. RQ-170 incident (December 2011)
- Sepahan Airlines Flight 5915 (August 2014)
- Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 3704 (February 2018)
- Iran Bombardier Challenger crash (March 2018)
- Saha Airlines Boeing 707 crash (January 2019)
- Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 (January 2020)
- Caspian Airlines Flight 6936 (January 2020)
- Varzaqan helicopter crash (May 2024)
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