Rasht

The crew departed Tehran-Mehrabad Airport at 1233LT on a training flight to Rasht. Following 14 touch-and-go manoeuvres completed successfully, the crew approached the airport but forgot to lower the landing gear. The aircraft landed on its belly and slid on runway 09 for a period of 30 seconds and on a distance of 2,100 metres. Despite the situation, the crew decided to take off again and continued to climb when the rear fuselage caught fire. The crew declared an emergency, extended the undercarriage manually and was cleared to land on runway 09. On final approach, the aircraft became unstable, lost height and crashed in a field located 5 km short of runway. Four crew members were killed while three others were injured. The aircraft was destroyed. §

On a cargo flight from Beirut to Tehran, while cruising at an altitude between 13,000 and 15,000 feet by night, the four engine aircraft was attacked by the pilot of an unknown fighter. The engine number one was hit, causing a fire that spread to the nacelle and the wing. Shortly later, the engine number four was shut down and its propeller feathered due to a fuel exhaustion (the fuel tank was apparently empty). In such situation, the crew reduced his altitude and attempted an emergency landing near Rasht. The airplane came to rest in a field and was destroyed. All three crew members were uninjured. It is presumed the crew made a navigation error in flight, causing the aircraft to fly over the Soviet Union without authorization.