HERE WE GO AGAIN, ANOTHER AIRPLANE CRASHES IN IRAN
Persian Journal, Iran
March 28 2006
A cargo plane crashed west of Tehran on Tuesday, injuring those on
board, a police officer told state television. There were no reports
of deaths. Details of the crash were confused.
The official IRNA news agency said the plane was Bulgarian whereas
the police spokesman, identified only as Colonel Alipour, said it
was Armenian.
The manager of Payam airport in Karaj, an industrial satellite city
west of Tehran, told state media the Antonov cargo plane took off
from there at 5.30 p.m. (1400 GMT) but immediately requested an
emergency landing.
But Alipour said the plane had requested an emergency landing while
overflying Iran en route to Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.
Other police spokesmen and Iran’s civil aviation authority were not
immediately able to clarify these details to Reuters.
Bulgaria’s transport ministry said it could not confirm the plane
was Bulgarian after checks with local airlines.
“We do not have any such information for the moment. We have checked
with the airlines that operate Antonov planes and fly to Iran and
neither was aware of any accident,” transport ministry spokeswoman
Valia Luleva told Reuters.
The aircraft crashed at Savoj Bolagh, outside Karaj.
Reza Jafarzadeh, head of public relations at Iran’s Civil Aviation
Authority, told IRNA a bird could have been sucked into the engine,
causing the crash.
The weather in Tehran and its environs was stormy throughout Tuesday
afternoon and evening.