ZCZC
BFF-22
IRAN-AVIATION-ACCIDENT
Iran airliner overshoots runway, stops in highway
TEHRAN, Jan 27, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – An Iranian passenger plane overshot a
runway as it landed Monday in the southwestern city of Bandar-e Mahshahr,
barrelling into an adjacent highway without causing casualties, state TV
reported.
“Arriving at Mahshahr airport, the pilot landed the aircraft too late and
this caused him to miss the runway,” the broadcaster quoted the head of
Khuzestan province’s aviation authority as saying.
This “caused the aircraft to overshoot the runway and stop in a boulevard”
next to the airport, Mohammadreza Rezaeia said.
The McDonnell Douglas jet, belonging to Iran’s Caspian Airlines, was
flying from Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport with 135 passengers plus the plane’s
crew.
State TV reported that all were safe.
A state TV reporter travelling on the plane told the broadcaster that the
aircraft’s “back wheel had broken off, as we saw it was left on the runway”
and said the plane had been moving with no wheels before it ground to a halt.
Iran’s aviation authority said “the cause of the incident is being
investigated”.
The Islamic republic had been planning to upgrade its decrepit fleet after
long-standing US sanctions were lifted following the 2015 nuclear deal
between Tehran and world powers.
But when US President Donald Trump pulled out of the accord in 2018 and
reimposed crippling economic sanctions, the treasury department revoked
licenses for Boeing and Airbus to sell passenger jets to Iran.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1338 hrs