Iranian airplane crashes expose weaknesses in 'self-sufficiency'
Blaming Western sanctions for Iran's airplane crashes is no longer enough, say critics who cite to the dismal safety record of Iran-built planes.
The crash of a passenger plane constructed jointly by Iran and Ukraine last week near Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran shows that not only do the sanctions against the Iranian aviation industry continue to threaten the lives of the Iranian passengers, but also that Iran's attempts to gain independence in aviation have been equally life-threatening.
On Aug. 10 at 9:20 a.m., a Sepahan Airlines plane, headed from Tehran to Tabas, lost one of its engines on the runway of the Mehrabad airport and crashed on the northern side of the Tehran-Karaj highway. According to a report published by the director of Iran's Airports Co., aside from the crew, there were 34 adults, three toddlers and three children under the age of 12 aboard this aircraft. Only eight passengers survived the crash.
The Iran-based airline's plane was an IrAn-140 aircraft. The Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company, also known as "HESA," which belongs to the Ministry of Defense, had assembled the Ukrainian-made aircraft.
There is a short description for this type of turboprop aircraft on the company's website that reads: "A regional passenger plane, a small aircraft suitable for carrying 35 to 100 passengers between two locations, designed to have the utmost sufficiency."
