An Iran-140 Sepahan Airlines Flight 5915 has crashed in Tehran shortly after taking off from Mehrabad International Airport, killing at least 39 of the 48 people on-board.
With engine failure cited as the reason for the crash, the Antonov An-140 type aircraft was on its scheduled route to travel from Tehran to the northeastern city of Tabas during the time of the incident, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.
Initial reports revealed that all passengers and crew on-board had been killed, while state media later confirmed eight or nine survivors being transferred to hospital.
According to Press TV, Iran Roads and Urban Development Deputy Minister Ahmad Majidi said: "Both black boxes of Iran-140 airplane of Hesa Co (Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company) were found in search operations."
In addition to killing passengers and crew, the crash also injured people on the ground including employees at a glass factory, reported FARS news agency.
Iranian Airlines have had a series of aircraft crashes as a result of poor maintenance and alleged international sanctions hampering them from replacing their ageing aircraft fleet.
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By GlobalDataIn the decade prior to January 2011, 14 crashes involving Iranian aircraft were reported. The worst air accident was the crash of an Ilyushin 76 in the southeast mountains in February 2003, which killed 302 people.
The latest crash is the fourth in two months, following the crash of Air Algerie’s Flight AH5017 over Mali with 116 people onboard, the crash of TransAsia Airways’ ATR 72-500 aircraft that killed 47 people and the shooting down of the Malaysian Airlines’ MH17 in Ukraine, killing all 298 people on-board.
