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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Senior police officers among seven dead in Iran plane crash |
| 2014-10-13 |
| DUBAI: An Iranian police plane crashed late on Saturday killing four high-ranking officers investigating the deaths of police in a province that borders Pakistan and Afghanistan, state news agency IRNA reported. Three crew also died in the crash, underscoring concerns about Iran's ageing aircraft fleet which Tehran has been unable to modernise due to international sanctions. All seven on board perished when the twin-engined turbo-prop Commander aircraft went down in the mountains outside Sistan-Baluchistan's capital of Zahedan, IRNA said. Two generals including Mahmoud Sadeghi, a senior officer in charge of investigations, and a colonel, were among the dead, Fars news reported. The police were travelling from Tehran to investigate the killing of four Iranian police officers in the province. Impoverished and relatively lawless Sistan-Baluchistan has been plagued by unrest from disgruntled Sunni Muslim minorities in predominantly Shi'ite Iran and is rife with drug and arms traffickers. The wreckage of the aircraft has been found but the cause of the crash remains unknown, IRNA said. Iran's airlines have been plagued by crashes, which Tehran blames on international sanctions imposed over Tehran's disputed nuclear program. The measures prevent firms from replacing their ageing fleets. About 22 crashes involving Iranian aircrafts were reported from 2000 to August 2014. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #6 More on the aircraft: Depending on which version, wing fatigue could have been an issue, but it would appear that conversion to the turbo props also was a good time to retrofit new wing center section. The below is from Wikipedia: Beginning in June 1991, senior engineers met with FAA officials to discuss concerns over the Aero Commander's main wing spar, which was believed to be susceptible to stress fatigue and subsequent cracking, and was believed to have resulted in a number of fatal crashes. From approximately 1961–1993, 24 aircraft crashed when spar failures caused the loss of the wing in flight. 35 more spars were found cracked during inspections. Commander 690 681 with new wing centre section and engines moved further outboard, two Garrett AiResearch TPE331-5-251K turboprops, 79 built. Commander 690A 690 with changed flightdeck layout and increased pressurisation, 245 built. |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2014-10-13 17:10 |
| #5 Aero Commanders are old aircraft and if the turbo props were a retro fit, well, not a lot of detail here, but wing or fuselage fatigue along with the good ol' InShallah Maintenance probably contributed to this. |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2014-10-13 14:53 |
| #4 We're supposed to believe they can build their own modern stealth fighter jets, yet they can't even keep a simple little turbo-prop transport in the air? |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2014-10-13 10:50 |
| #3 This used to be Saddam's modus back in the day. |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2014-10-13 08:51 |
| #2 |
| Posted by: Big Thromoth3646 2014-10-13 06:27 |
| #1 "Flap, Mahmoud flap!! Faster darn you!! |
| Posted by: Steven 2014-10-13 03:40 |