Cargo plane crash 'leaves 15 dead' near Tehran

A cargo plane carrying 16 passengers has crashed near the Iranian capital, Tehran, killing 15.

It is believed the plane tried to make an emergency landing at an airport near Tehran, before overshooting the runway and crashing into nearby buildings. The Boeing 707, travelling from Bishkek-Manas International Airport (FRU/UCFM), Kyrgyzstan to Payam International Airport (PYK/OIIP), Iran came off the runway and hit a residential area while trying to land at Fath airport in Karaj, 40km (25 miles) west of Tehran, in poor weather. The aircraft belongs to Saha Air (ICAO code: IRZ)  but is leased to Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force
Only a flight engineer of the 16 people on board was found alive, with no-one reportedly killed on the ground. The plane's "black box" voice recorder has been found at the crash site, local media reported. An army spokesman confirmed to state TV that the plane belonged to Iran, and that all those on board were Iranian citizens. Fath airport belongs to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards Corps, and is located in the central Iranian province of Alborz. The cargo aircraft was transporting meat. Its wreckage was found smouldering among houses in a residential area between Fath and another airport, Payam International Airport.
Local media report that the houses were empty at the time of the crash.
This is the latest in a series of Iranian plane crashes in recent years.
In February last year, Iran's Aseman Airlines was ordered to ground its fleet of ATR planes after one of them crashed into the Zagros mountains. All 66 people on board died. In August 2014, a Sepahan Airlines' Antonov plane crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran, killing 39 of the 40 people on board. It is believed engine failure was the cause. Images from the scene show the tail of a plane protruding from trees surrounded by buildings, black smoke and fires burning on the ground.
A plane's blackened fuselage is seen lying on the ground as dozens of rescuers work at the scene.
Its engines and wheels are spread across the crash site and images from inside the plane's body show it is completely charred.
The ground around the tail of the plane is scorched and part of the buildings near the crash site have collapsed.


Aircraft Details

Airline: Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force 
Code: IRIAF
Aircraft: B707-3J9C
Registration: EP-CPP
Serial Number: 21128
Engines: 4 Pratt & Whitney Canada JT3D-3B
Age: 42
First Flew: 1976



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