March 2 2021
The Mystery Of Fly Armenia’s ‘Missing’ Boeing 737 Now In Iran
byJoanna Bailey
March 2, 2021
A Boeing 737-300 operated by Fly Armenia has vanished in Iran. The aircraft was supposed to be heading to Ukraine for maintenance ahead of its entry into service with the airline. It deviated from the planned flight path and declared an emergency over Iran; it has not been seen since.
The Mystery Of Fly Armenia’s 'Missing' Boeing 737 Now In Iran – Simple Flying
Where did the 737 go?
On February 19th, a Boeing 737 operated by Fly Armenia left its storage in Tallinn, Estonia, to undergo maintenance ahead of entry into service. The 737-300, registered EK-FAA, departed Tallinn just after 08:00 GMT; its destination, according to Armenian authorities, should have been Hostomel in Ukraine, where it would be brought into shape and returned to the airline at a later date.
But the plane did not fly to Hostomel. Instead, it headed south to Varan, Bulgaria, where it landed at just after midday. That in itself is bizarre, given that Bulgaria, as well as Romania and the Baltic states through which the aircraft passed, are in the EU. The EU has banned Armenian aircraft from flying through its airspace since June last year.
Also bizarre is the lack of tracking data. Searching for the aircraft on various tracking websites under its registration brings up nothing. However, Plane Finder allows for searching via HEX code, a unique number relating to the tracker fitted inside the aircraft, which in this plane’s case is 600011. That shows its trip down to Bulgaria clearly tracked.