Iran Air

Boeing 727-200

The aircraft departed Tehran-Mehrabad Airport at 1815LT with a delay of more than two hours due to poor weather conditions at destination. While descending to Orumiyeh Airport by night, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with snow falls, visibility 800 metres and three ceilings at 1,500, 2,000 and 6,000 feet. After the crew was unable to intercept the ILS, the decision to initiate a go-around procedure was taken. Approaching the stall speed, the stick shaker activated and the aircraft probably encountered icing conditions. In a left bank angle estimated between 26 and 40°, the engine n°3 and 1 failed. At an altitude of 600 feet and at a speed of 96 knots, the flaps were retracted, causing the aircraft to stall and to impact the ground. The aircraft broke in three but there was no fire. 70 passengers and 8 crew members were killed while 27 other occupants were injured, some seriously.

Fokker 100

After landing on runway 29L at Tehran-Mehrabad Airport, the right main gear collapsed. The aircraft veered off runway to the right and came to rest. All 114 occupants were uninjured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Fokker 100

While preparing the flight at Tehran-Mehrabad Airport, the copilot proceeded with a walk around check of the airplane. As the OAT was near freezing level and there were some light snow showers, he requested a deicing. Nevertheless, as there were already a few number of aircraft waiting for deicing, the captain decided to takeoff without deicing. At 0731LT, the crew was cleared for takeoff and started the takeoff procedure. After liftoff, the aircraft started to roll to the left then to the right. Losing altitude, the left wing impacted ground and the aircraft crash landed, coming to rest and bursting into flames. All 113 occupants were rescued, among them 11 were seriously injured including four crew members.

Airbus A300

The aircraft was towed at Tehran-Mehrabad Airport when it was struck by a IRIAF Lockheed C-130 Hercules that crashed on takeoff. At impact, both aircraft exploded and were totally destroyed by a post crash fire. All six crew members on board the Hercules were killed as well as three people who were on board the Airbus.

Fokker 100

While descending to Tehran-Mehrabad Airport, the crew was informed about the poor weather conditions at destination with snow falls, low visibility and a 20 knots tailwind. The crew decided to divert to Isfahan-Shahid Beheshti Airport. On approach, the crew encountered limited visibility due to foggy conditions. The aircraft struck the ground, lost its undercarriage and slid for almost one km before coming to rest in a desert area located 8 km short of runway 26. All 113 occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Boeing 727-200

The crew departed Tehran-Mehrabad Airport at 1233LT on a training flight to Rasht. Following 14 touch-and-go manoeuvres completed successfully, the crew approached the airport but forgot to lower the landing gear. The aircraft landed on its belly and slid on runway 09 for a period of 30 seconds and on a distance of 2,100 metres. Despite the situation, the crew decided to take off again and continued to climb when the rear fuselage caught fire. The crew declared an emergency, extended the undercarriage manually and was cleared to land on runway 09. On final approach, the aircraft became unstable, lost height and crashed in a field located 5 km short of runway. Four crew members were killed while three others were injured. The aircraft was destroyed. §

Airbus A300

Flight IR451 arrived at Bandar Abbas (BND) from Tehran (THR) at 08:40. The Airbus A300 was to continue to Dubai (DXB) as flight IR655. Prior to departure the crew received an enroute clearance to Dubai via the flight planned route A59 and A59W at FL140. The flight took off from runway 21 at 10:17 hours and climbed straight ahead. Two minutes later, the crew reported leaving 3500 feet for FL140 on Airway A59, estimating MOBET at 06:53 UTC (10:23 Iran time). At 10:24:00 the aircraft passed MOBET out of FL120. At 10:24:43 two Airbus was hit by surface-to-air missiles. The tail and one wing broke off as a result of the explosions. Control was lost and the aircraft crashed into the sea. The missiles were fired by the US Navy cruiser USS Vincennes. It was operating in the area together with the frigates USS Elmer Montgomery and USS John H. Sides. They were to protect other ships in the area. At about the time the Airbus took off, the radar aboard the USS Vincennes picked up a brief IFF mode 2 response, which led to the mistaken identification of the Airbus as a hostile F-14 aircraft. The USS Vincennes issued 7 challenges on the Military Air Distress (MAD) frequency 243 MHz, addressed to 'Iranian aircraft', 'Iranian fighter' or 'Iranian F-14'. These messages were followed by three challenges on the IAD (International Air Defence) radio frequency. Due to increasing tension in the area - on May 17, 1987 an Iraqi Mirage had attacked USS Stark - all aircraft in the area had to monitor 121.5 Mhz: the International Air Defence - IAD radio frequency. There was no response. Meanwhile radar operators were monitoring the Aegis screens. They reported that the incoming plane was descending with an increasing speed. In fact, the Airbus was climbing. Considering itself and USS Montgomery under aggression, USS Vincennes took the ultimate decision to launch missiles against the perceived hostile target at 10:24:22. It remains uncertain whether the IR655 flight crew (only able to monitor the IAD, not the MAD frequencies) would have been able to rapidly identify their flight as the subject of the challenges made by the USS Vincennes.

Boeing 737-200

The aircraft was taxiing and preparing for takeoff at Shiraz Airport when it was hit by an air-to-surface missile shot by the pilot of an Iraqi fighter who was attacking the airport. The B737 caught fire and was partially destroyed by fire. Three passengers were killed, 30 other occupants were injured and 47 unhurt.

Boeing 727-100

Two mechanics took over the airplane to complete a high-speed taxi check following maintenance. While taxiing, the airplane went out of control and veered off taxiway, causing the left main gear and the nose gear to collapse. The airplane came to rest on soft ground and was damaged beyond repair while both occupants escaped uninjured.

Boeing 727-100

On the day of the accident, Iranian air traffic controllers went on strike, which led to hundreds of domestic flights being cancelled. At 1600LT the strike was interrupted and flights resumed. At 1740LT, the airplane departed Mashad Airport on schedule service IR291 to Tehran-Mehrabad Airport with 120 passengers and a crew of eight on board. At 1852LT, ATC based at Tehran-Mehrabad Airport cleared the crew for a direct approach to runway 29. At 1905LT, the dispatcher instructed the crew to take a 360° heading to reach the non-directional beacon of Varamin. On approach, the copilot informed the captain that the VORTAC was giving a wrong radial course but the captain failed to respond to this message. At 1911LT, while descending in limited visibility due to night, snow falls and foggy conditions, the airplane struck the slope of a mountain located in the Alborz Mountain Range. The wreckage was found few hours later in a snow covered terrain about 29 km north of Tehran Airport. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and none of the 128 occupants survived the crash.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

On final approach to Bandar Abbas Airport, the airplane was too low for undetermined reason when it struck the ground and came to rest in flames few dozen yards short of runway. Eleven passengers were killed while 17 other occupants were evacuated. The aircraft was destroyed.

Vickers Viscount

The aircraft landed hard for unknown reason. On touchdown, the left main gear collapsed and the aircraft veered off runway to the left before coming to rest. There were no casualties but the aircraft was written off.

Douglas DC-3

Suffered an accident at Isfahan Airport. There were no injuries.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Crashed in unknown circumstances. Occupant fate remains unknown.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Flight IR123 was a scheduled international cargo flight from Kabul, Afghanistan to Tehran, Iran. The co-pilot was in the left-hand seat and pilot flying at the commencement of the takeoff run. The aircraft was cleared for takeoff on runway 29 at 13:13. When accelerating for takeoff the pilot-in-command noticed that the propeller of the no. 1 engine was overspeeding and surging as high as 3300 rpm. As the aircraft approached an indicated airspeed of about 80 kts the captain took command. He noticed that the aircraft was headed to the left away from the runway centreline towards three runway lights in a concrete footing at the left edge of the runway. To avoid a possible collision with these lights the captain applied elevator control and lifted the aircraft off the runway. The overspeeding propeller condition did not subside although he followed the procedure prescribed in the operations manual for corrective action. The flight path was about 30 to 45° to the left of the runway and in the general direction of the Kabul Airport terminal building so the captain attempted to turn the aircraft further to the left to avoid collision with the building. About 325 ft from the south edge of runway 29 the left wing contacted the ground and the aircraft crashed.

Douglas DC-4

On a cargo flight from Beirut to Tehran, while cruising at an altitude between 13,000 and 15,000 feet by night, the four engine aircraft was attacked by the pilot of an unknown fighter. The engine number one was hit, causing a fire that spread to the nacelle and the wing. Shortly later, the engine number four was shut down and its propeller feathered due to a fuel exhaustion (the fuel tank was apparently empty). In such situation, the crew reduced his altitude and attempted an emergency landing near Rasht. The airplane came to rest in a field and was destroyed. All three crew members were uninjured. It is presumed the crew made a navigation error in flight, causing the aircraft to fly over the Soviet Union without authorization.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Crashed shortly after takeoff from Kerman-Sanandaj. There were no casualties.

De Havilland DH.104 Dove

During the takeoff roll, the captain decided to abandon the takeoff procedure and started an emergency braking maneuver. Unable to stop within the remaining distance, the twin engine aircraft overran, lost its undercarriage and came to rest few dozen yards farther. All 12 occupants were evacuated safely while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. The reason why the crew decided to abandon the takeoff remains unknown.

Beechcraft AT-11 Kansan

Crashed in unknown circumstances at Ahwaz Airport.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

The aircraft, engaged on a copilot's check in instrument flying and one engine flying, took off from Mehrabad Airport at 0909LT with a Captain acting as check pilot, four copilots under test and a flight engineer. Difficulties were met in feathering and unfeathering during the first flight and the aircraft returned to the apron for advice. The aircraft took off again at 1048 LT for further checks. At approximately 1129LT and at 6,700 feet the port propeller was feathered. A few minutes later the port propeller overspeeded when the Captain tried to unfeather it and, despite repeated efforts, the crew did not succeed in unfeathering or refeathering it and it continued to windmill at about 2100 RPM. Height could not be maintained and the aircraft crash landed in open country 1,500 meters short of Runway 11 at Mehrabad Airport. The aircraft was wrecked causing serious injuries to three occupants and minor injuries to the other three.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

While descending to Tehran-Mehrabad Airport in limited visibility due to heavy fog, the crew was instructed by ATC to divert to Isfahan Airport. The pilot-in-command abandoned the approach and modified his route, while confirming to ATC that his fuel reserves were insufficient to cover the distance. Few minutes later, the crew informed ATC that he was short of fuel and elected to make an emergency landing when the aircraft crashed in a field located about 7 km from Mehrabad Airport. Rescuers arrived on scene two hours later and were able to evacuate two passengers who were seriously injured, all 27 other occupants have been killed.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

While approaching Qom Airport in poor weather conditions, the aircraft hit the slope of a mountain and crashed few km from the airport. All eight occupants were killed.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Shortly after takeoff from Tehran-Mehrabad Airport, while climbing, the aircraft stalled and crashed. All nine occupants were killed, among them seven crew members who were positioning to Saudi Arabia to make a crew change on another aircraft.