The 2001 Faraz Qeshm Airlines Yak-40 crash occurred on 17 May 2001 when a short-haul
trijet
A trijet is a jet aircraft powered by three jet engines. In general, passenger airline trijets are considered to be second-generation jet airliners, due to their innovative engine locations, in addition to the advancement of turbofan technology. ...
Yakovlev Yak-40
The Yakovlev Yak-40 (russian: Яковлев Як-40; NATO reporting name: Codling) is a regional jet designed by Yakovlev. The trijet's maiden flight was in 1966, and it was in production from 1967 to 1981. Introduced in September 1968, the Ya ...
being operated by
Faraz Qeshm Airlines crashed while en route to
Gorgan Airport
Gorgan Airport ( fa, فرودگاه گرگان) is an international airport located in the city of Gorgan, Iran.
The airport is located 2 km west of the Gorgan-Aq Qala Highway and 6 km north of Gorgan, the capital of Golestan province ...
from
Tehran-Mehrabad Airport in Iran. The aircraft crashed in mountainous terrain while flying in poor weather conditions about twenty kilometers south of
Sari
A sari (sometimes also saree or shari)The name of the garment in various regional languages include:
* as, শাৰী, xārī, translit-std=ISO
* bn, শাড়ি, śāṛi, translit-std=ISO
* gu, સાડી, sāḍī, translit-std= ...
killing all thirty people on board. Passengers aboard the aircraft included
Rahman Dadman
Rahman Dadman ( fa, رحمان دادمان; 1956–2001) was an Iranian politician. Trained as a civil engineer Dadman briefly served as the minister of roads and transportation between January and May 2001. He died in a plane crash on 17 May 200 ...
, Iran's
Minister of Roads and Transportation, and six members of parliament.
Aircraft and crew
The Yakovlev Yak-40 operated by Faraz Qeshm Airlines was on lease from
Armenian Airlines
Armenian Airlines ( hy, Հայկական ավիաուղիներ) was an Armenian airline company and the state-owned flag carrier of Armenia.
History
Armenian Airlines was established shortly after independence in 1991 from Aeroflot's Arm ...
and the crew, including both pilots, consisted of Armenian nationals.
[
]
Accident
On 17 May 2001, a Russian-built Yakovlev Yak-40, registration EP-TQP, operated by Faraz Qeshm Airlines took off from Tehran-Mehrabad Airport at 06:45 and proceeded northeast to Gorgan Airport with a crew of five and twenty-five passengers which included Iran's Transportation Minister Rahman Dadman, other ministry staff, including Arsalan Raahemi and six members of parliament. They were part of a delegation to inaugurate the opening of Gorgan Airport, according to Golestan Province Governor Ali Asghar Ahmadi.
While flying in deteriorating weather conditions, which included heavy rains, the aircraft was struck by lightning possibly affecting its navigational equipment. About ten minutes before its scheduled arrival, the pilot communicated to air traffic control
Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...
that they would either have to make an emergency landing or divert to another airport. At around 07:45 the aircraft crashed in a heavily forested section of the Alborz Mountains
The Alborz ( fa, البرز) range, also spelled as Alburz, Elburz or Elborz, is a mountain range in northern Iran that stretches from the border of Azerbaijan along the western and entire southern coast of the Caspian Sea and finally runs nort ...
, thirteen miles southeast of the city of Sari, between Gorgan
Gorgan ( fa, گرگان ; also romanized as ''Gorgān'', ''Gurgān'', and ''Gurgan''), formerly Esterabad ( ; also romanized as ''Astarābād'', ''Asterabad'', and ''Esterābād''), is the capital city of Golestan Province, Iran. It lies appro ...
and Shahroud
Shahrood ( fa, شاهرود, also Romanized as Shâhrūd, and Shahroud; also known as Shârūd) is a city and capital of Shahrood County, Semnan Province, Iran.
Situated about an altitude of 1345 m, it is located at latitude 36°25'N, longi ...
.
Passengers and crew
All of the passengers aboard the aircraft were Iranian nationals. The crew members were Armenian nationals from Armenian Airlines.
See also
*Aeromist-Kharkiv Flight 2137
On 23 December 2002, an Antonov An-140 crashed near Ardestan, Iran, killing everyone on board. The crash, with 44 fatalities, killed a number of Russian and Ukrainian aviation specialists.
Crash
The aircraft was en route from Kharkiv in Ukrai ...
*Iran Air Flight 291
Iran Air Flight 291 was a flight from Mashad Airport to Tehran-Mehrabad Airport that crashed on 21 January 1980 during its approach to Tehran-Mehrabad runway 29 in foggy and snowy weather conditions, killing all 128 people on board. At the time ...
*Iran Air Flight 742
Iran Air Flight 742 was a Boeing 727 passenger jet on a scheduled service from Moscow, Russia, to Tehran, Iran, which on 18 October 2011 made an emergency landing at Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport, after the nose landing gear failed to ...
*Sepahan Airlines Flight 5915
Sepahan Airlines Flight 5915 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Iranian capital Tehran Mehrabad International Airport to Tabas, South Khorasan Province, Iran. On 10 August 2014, the HESA IrAn-140 twin turboprop serving the flight cr ...
References
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in 2001
Airliner accidents and incidents caused by weather
Aviation accidents and incidents in Iran
Aviation accidents and incidents in 2001
Accidents and incidents involving the Yakovlev Yak-40
May 2001 events in Asia