[katzmeow]

An Iranian passenger plane has crashed moments after take off from Tehran, killing at least 38 on board and narrowly avoiding many more deaths when it fell near a busy market.

The plane was headed to the eastern city of Tabas, the IRNA and Fars news agencies said, when it crashed at 9.18am local time (4.48am GMT), after leaving Mehrabad airport.

It triggered a fireball when it smashed into the capital's Azadi neighbourhood, close to where hundreds of military families live, and only a few hundred metres from a row of shops.

Iran's deputy transport minister, Ahmad Majidi, said the Antonov An-140 turboprop plane had 40 passengers, including six children, and eight crew on board, and he put the death toll at 38.

A fire official initially said all on board had been killed but Fars later reported that 37 bodies were sent to the morgue and IRNA said nine people were hospitalised, two of them critically injured.

The aircraft was operated by Sepahan Airlines and a tailfin bearing the company's dolphin logo could be seen sticking out of the road as security forces cordoned off the crash site where firefighters had doused the flames.

Black smoke billowed from the mass of burnt-out twisted metal, with officials saying the plane hit a wall and trees.

"The scene was terrible, with the back of the plane in the middle of the street," one eyewitness said. "But we were lucky because there was a market 500 metres away and a lot of people were there."

Another eyewitness told state television: "I was on my motorbike and I heard something behind me. I turned round and it was a plane, so I got on to the ground because it was so close.

"With other people, we ran to try and save the passengers but there were two or three loud explosions and a huge fire."

Mehrabad airport is near central Tehran and it is by far the country's busiest domestic hub, serving routes to all major Iranian cities.

Most international passenger flights take off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini international airport, which is located further west of the capital.

Alireza Jahangirian, the head of Iran's civil aviation authority, said: "The plane crashed in trees. There were no casualties on the ground." An investigation is under way, he added.

The Ukrainian-designed An-140 is intended for regional use, has a range of around 1,500 miles (2,400km) and can carry up to 52. Iranian airlines are some of the plane's biggest users.
The Isna news agency reported that the plane in Sunday's crash had been assembled under licence by an Iranian company in Esfahan, a city 450 kilometres south of Tehran.

[katzmeow]

More pictures found. Please feel free to add you're pictures as they come in...

[Pyramid_Head]

Those poor people.

Wonder if a video of the impact will surface.

[Pyramid_Head]

Double post.

[kellyhound]

As of May 2013, a total of 25 Antonov An-140 aircraft are in airline, military and police aviation service.

Accidents and incidents:

23 December 2002
Aeromist Kharkiv Flight 2137, an An-140 (UR-14003) carrying many of Ukraine's top aviation designers and engineers, crashed into a mountainside as it was preparing to land at Isfahan, Iran, killing all 44 on board.

The delegation was to have attended the inauguration ceremonies for the first HESA IrAn-140 airframe.

The probable cause was controlled flight into terrain (CFIT).

12 August 2005
A Safiran Airlines HESA IrAn-140 diverted to Arak International Airport due to an engine failure. During landing, the aircraft overran the runway and was badly damaged.

There were no fatalities. The cause of the engine failure appeared to be technical problems with the fuel control unit.

The airframe was eventually repaired in the early 2010s and is to be used by HESA as a test bed for the future versions of the aircraft.

After the Arak incident, Safiran Airlines returned its two remaining examples to HESA. These two aircraft eventually found their way to the Iran Police Aviation.

23 December 2005
Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 217, an An-140-100 (4K-AZ48), crashed into the Caspian Sea at CA 22:40, killing all 23 passengers and crew on board.

Investigations discovered that three independent gyroscopes were not providing stabilized heading and attitude information to the crew early in the flight.

The airline grounded its remaining An-140 airplanes, and cancelled plans to purchase more of the type from Ukraine.

6 September 2008
A South Airlines An-140 coming from Lviv, Ukraine, suffered a nose landing gear extension failure during landing at Boryspil Airport.

The aircraft landed on a specially prepared foam track using the two intact landing gears. None suffered any injuries and the aircraft was put back to service in three weeks after a minor repair.

15 February 2009
An IrAn-140-100 (test registration HESA 90-04) crashed at Shahin Shahr, Isfahan Province, Iran, during a training flight, killing the five crew.

10 August 2014
Sepahan Airlines Flight 5915, an IrAn-140-100 (registration EP-GPA), crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran Mehrabad International Airport.

The aircraft was on a domestic service to Tabas. According to initial reports, around 40 passengers and 8 crew members were on board the aircraft, which broke up and burst into flames.

It was reported that the aircraft suffered an engine failure shortly after take-off. There were 10 survivors.

The aircraft was built in 2008 and was fitted with Klimov TV3-117VMA-SBM1 engines.

Def not the safest of all planes.

[dwizzy22]

ladas arnt safe neither and ppl drive them around