15 feared dead as cargo plane crashes in Iran; 1 survivor from 16 on board
Tehran, Jan 14: An Iranian Boeing 707 cargo plane coming from Kyrgyzstan crashed on Monday while trying to land west of Iran's capital, state media reported, with an emergency official saying only one person of the 16 on board was known to have survived.
Fire immediately engulfed the aircraft after it skidded off a runway and crashed into a wall separating the Fath Airport from a residential neighborhood. Images carried by Iran's state-run media showed the burned-out tail of the plane sticking out, surrounded by charred homes.
The plane crashed at Fath Airport, which belongs to Iran's powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, when it was meant to land at the nearby Payam International Airport, about 40 kilometers west of Tehran, the Iranian capital.
Authorities did not immediately offer a reason for the crew's decision to land there, though they said the crew had declared an emergency prior to land.
Pirhossein Koulivand, the head of the country's emergency medical services, said of the 16 people on board the plane, only the flight engineer was known to have survived. Iranian media reported seven bodies from the crash had already been recovered.
The plane reportedly was carrying a cargo of meat from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan's capital, to Iran.
Iran's air force said in a statement that the fate of the crew, including their possible "martyrdom," is under investigation. It wasn't immediately clear who owns the plane, though Gen. Shahin Taghikhani, an army spokesman, told state TV that the plane and its crew were Iranian.
Iranians often use the word "martyrdom" for those who die in war or national service, suggesting the aircraft may have belonged to the air force. The Iranian air force does operate Boeing 707s; it also has a civilian airline, SAHA.
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Baramati plane crash: CID questions VSR Ventures owner
Pune (PTI): The Maharashtra Crime Investigation Department on Thursday questioned V K Singh, owner of VSR Ventures, which operated the aircraft involved in the Baramati crash that killed deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, a CID officer said.
“The statement of V K Singh is being recorded,” said the CID officer, without disclosing more details about the questioning, which was still underway.
A Learjet 45 aircraft, operated by VSR Ventures, crashed near the Baramati air strip in Pune district on January 28, killing Pawar and four others.
After the plane crash, an accidental death report was registered at the Baramati Taluka police station, and the case was later transferred to the Pune CID. Earlier, the state agency had said that its focus was to ascertain if sabotage or criminal negligence led to the Baramati tragedy.
Days before V K Singh's questioning, the CID had sent a set of questions to VSR Ventures in connection with its investigation into the plane crash, according to a source.
NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar had alleged on Wednesday that someone was trying to save VSR Ventures, and claimed that a preliminary probe by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) vindicated the doubts earlier raised by him.
In its 22-page preliminary report on the air tragedy, the AAIB said the visibility at the time of the crash was below the required level. It also flagged fading marks on the runway and the presence of loose gravel on the runway surface.
A few days ago, Ajit Pawar’s son Jay Pawar had shared a purported video on social media alleging that V K Singh's son Rohit Singh was seen dozing off in the chief pilot’s seat during a flight, and demanded his immediate arrest.
He had also demanded that all aircraft of VSR Ventures be grounded till the inquiry into his father’s plane crash is completed.
