An Iranian cargo plane coming from Kyrgyzstan crashed today while trying to land west of Iran’s capital Tehran. An emergency official said only one person of the 16 on board was known to have survived.
The Boeing 707 cargo aircraft was making an emergency landing at Fath Airport when it skidded off a runway and crashed into a wall separating the airport from a residential neighbourhood. The state media said, fire immediately engulfed the aircraft after the crash. Images carried by Iran’s state-run media showed the burned-out tail of the plane sticking out, surrounded by charred homes.
The plane was meant to land at the nearby Payam International Airport, about 40 kilometers west of Tehran. Authorities have not yet offered a reason for the crew’s decision to land instead at Fath Airport. It is also not yet clear who owns the plane. Local media, however, reported that the aircraft bore the paint scheme of the Iranian Air Force’s Saha civilian airline.