Airliner with 170 on Board Crashes and Burns in Iran

24 January 2010; Taban Air Tu154M; Flight 6437; Mashhad, Iran: The aircraft was on an unscheduled domestic flight from Isfahan to Mashhad, Iran crash landed and caught fire at Mashhad. The aircraft was destroyed by the crash and fire, but there were no fatalities among the 13 crew members and 157 passengers.

The flight was originally a scheduled domestic flight from Abadan to Mashhad, Iran but diverted to Isfahan because of poor weather at Mashhad Airport. After the weather improved, the flight departed for Mashhad.

Iranian Television Report on the Crash

Recent Iranian Airliner Events
This is the second major crash in Mashhad in less than a year. Last July, an Aria Air Ilyushin 62 departed the runway after landing and crashed, killing 16 of the 166 occupants.

This is also the second major Tu154 crash in Iran in less than a year. Less than two weeks before the Aria Air crash, a Caspian Airlines Tu154 crashed shortly after takeoff on a flight from Tehran, Iran to Yerevan, Armenia, killing all 153 passengers and 15 crew members.

16 Killed in Latest Iranian Plane Crash

24 July 2009; Aria Air Ilyushin 62M, Flight 1525; Mashhad, Iran: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Tehran, Iran to Mashhad, Iran. After landing, there was a tire burst and the aircraft skidded on the runaway, hitting an airport fence and an electricity pylon.

The normal landing speed for an Ilyushin 62 would have been between 145 and 165 mph, but this accident aircraft reportedly landed at a speed of 197 mph. The airplane ran off the runway and collided with a wall located about a kilometer from the runway.

The front section of the aircraft was completely destroyed in the crash, and there were 16 fatalities among the 153 passengers and 13 crew members.

This is the first fatal crash for Aria Air, and the 12th fatal passenger crash for the Ilyushin 62 since it began passenger service in the 1960s. This crash comes less than ten days after the last fatal plane crash in Iran. All 168 passengers and crew on that Caspian Airlines flight were killed.

Shortly after the accident, the airline's flight certification license was revoked by the Iranian civil aviation authorities.

Fatal Events for Airlines from Africa and the Middle East
Aria Air Plane Crash Wikipedia page