Crash of a McDonnell Douglas MD-83 in Bandar-e Mahshahr

Date & Time: Jan 27, 2020 at 0736 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
EP-CPZ
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Tehran - Bandar-e Mahshahr
MSN:
53464
YOM:
1994
Flight number:
RV6936
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
136
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Captain / Total flying hours:
18430
Captain / Total hours on type:
7840.00
Copilot / Total flying hours:
300
Copilot / Total hours on type:
124
Circumstances:
On Jan. 27, 2020, at 03:12 UTC Caspian Airlines (CPN) Flight 6936, an MD83, EP-CPZ took off from Mehrabad International Airport and climbed to FL320 as final cruising level. At about 03:45:37 UTC, the aircraft was flying according to the flight plan route on Airway B417 at an assigned FL320. Due to another traffic departing flight, an A320, IRA356 from Abadan Airport (OIAA) to destination Mashhad International Airport (OIMM), the ACC controller issued direct routing to the flight CPN 6936 position GODMO. At 03:49:34 UTC, CPN6936 requested descent clearance, so the flight was cleared to FL100. At 03:52:30 UTC, the pilot called Mahshahr AFISO and reported position 50 nm inbound GODMO and estimated time over GODMO at 03:59 UTC. At 03:52:51 UTC, Mahshahr AFISO reported necessary information as below: "RWY active is 31; wind is now 280/08kts, CAVOK, temperature +06, DP 04 and QNH 1023, expected VOR approach RWY 31 via GODMO 1E ARRIVAL" At 03:53: 33 UTC, the pilot requested RWY 13 and Mahshahr AFISO performed VOR/DME approach RWY 13, via GODMO 1F arrival. At 03:59:39 UTC, the pilot reported, “we are approaching position GODMO in contact with destination Mahshahr.” At 04:00:41UTC, the pilot reported his position “GODMO” to Mahshahr AFISO. At 04:02:46 UTC, the pilot reported leaving of IAF and received landing clearance for RWY13. Finally, at 04:06:11 UTC, the aircraft landed on RWY 13, passed two-thirds of RWY length and ran off the end of runway13 after landing at Mahshahr Airport at 04:06 UTC, Khuzestan province. The accident flight was being operated on an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) flight plan in a Visual Meteorological Condition (VMC). The main door of the accident aircraft was opened in emergency condition, but the slide skid did not operate automatically. The cabin floor was just too close to the ground (grass surface) due to the impact of the nose and main landing gears strut which were broken after the runway overrun. The evacuation was performed from the main door, and all 136 passengers and 8 crew members disembarked.
Probable cause:
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Board determines that the probable causes of this accident were the pilots’ failures below, resulting in a runway overrun:
- Poor decision-making for acceptance of the risk of high-speed landing;
- Un-stabilized approach against the normal flight profile;
- Poor CRM in the cockpit; and
- Poor judgment and not accomplishing go-around while performing an unstabilized approach.

Contributing Factors:
- Loading of 5 tons of extra fuel, which increased the landing distance required.
- Decision to make a landing on RWY 13 with tailwind.
- Inability of the copilot (PM) to take control of the aircraft and proper action to execute goaround.
Final Report:

Crash of a Yakovlev Yak-40 near Sari: 30 killed

Date & Time: May 17, 2001 at 0745 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
EP-TQP
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Tehran - Gorgan
MSN:
9 74 08 56
YOM:
1977
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
25
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
30
Aircraft flight hours:
11156
Aircraft flight cycles:
6706
Circumstances:
The three engine aircraft departed Tehran-Mehrabad Airport at 0645LT on a charter flight to Gorgan, carrying members of the parliament and government who were flying to Gorgan to inaugurate the new airport. En route, the crew was informed by ATC about the deterioration of the weather conditions at destination and was instructed to divert to Sari Airport. While descending to Sari in marginal weather conditions, the crew failed to realize his altitude was too low when the aircraft struck the slope of a mountain located about 20 km south of the airport. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 30 occupants were killed. Among the passengers were Rahman Dadman, Iranian Minister of Transport and two vice-ministers.
Probable cause:
Controlled flight into terrain while descending in stormy weather below the MDA.

Crash of a Fokker 100 in Isfahan

Date & Time: Jan 5, 1998 at 2042 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
EP-IDC
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Orūmīyeh - Tehran
MSN:
11267
YOM:
1990
Flight number:
IR378
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
9
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
104
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
While descending to Tehran-Mehrabad Airport, the crew was informed about the poor weather conditions at destination with snow falls, low visibility and a 20 knots tailwind. The crew decided to divert to Isfahan-Shahid Beheshti Airport. On approach, the crew encountered limited visibility due to foggy conditions. The aircraft struck the ground, lost its undercarriage and slid for almost one km before coming to rest in a desert area located 8 km short of runway 26. All 113 occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Crash of a Pilatus PC-6/B2-H2 Turbo Porter near Tehran: 1 killed

Date & Time: Apr 18, 1995
Operator:
Registration:
4-9809
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Tehran - Tehran
MSN:
833
YOM:
1984
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The pilot, sole on board, was taking part to an airshow and completing a demonstration flight when the accident occurred in unknown circumstances. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot was killed.

Crash of a Fokker F27 Friendship 400M in Saveh: 39 killed

Date & Time: Apr 26, 1992
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
5-8815
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Bandar-e Mahshahr – Tehran
MSN:
10499
YOM:
1974
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
35
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
39
Circumstances:
The aircraft was completing a charter flight from Bandar-e Mahshahr to Tehran, carrying 35 passengers and 4 crew members on behalf of the National Petrochemical Company. While cruising in very bad weather conditions, the aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed near Saveh. All 39 occupants were killed.

Crash of a Lockheed C-130H Hercules in Kahrizak: 80 killed

Date & Time: Sep 29, 1981 at 1900 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
5-8552
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Ahwaz - Tehran
MSN:
4594
YOM:
1975
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
75
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
80
Circumstances:
While descending to Tehran-Mehrabad Airport, the four engine airplane crashed in unknown circumstances in Kahrizak, about 20 km south of the airport. All 80 occupants were killed, among them high ranking officers and the Iranian Minister of Defense.

Crash of a Boeing 727-86 near Tehran: 128 killed

Date & Time: Jan 21, 1980 at 1911 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
EP-IRD
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Mashhad - Tehran
MSN:
19817/537
YOM:
1968
Flight number:
IR291
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
120
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
128
Circumstances:
On the day of the accident, Iranian air traffic controllers went on strike, which led to hundreds of domestic flights being cancelled. At 1600LT the strike was interrupted and flights resumed. At 1740LT, the airplane departed Mashad Airport on schedule service IR291 to Tehran-Mehrabad Airport with 120 passengers and a crew of eight on board. At 1852LT, ATC based at Tehran-Mehrabad Airport cleared the crew for a direct approach to runway 29. At 1905LT, the dispatcher instructed the crew to take a 360° heading to reach the non-directional beacon of Varamin. On approach, the copilot informed the captain that the VORTAC was giving a wrong radial course but the captain failed to respond to this message. At 1911LT, while descending in limited visibility due to night, snow falls and foggy conditions, the airplane struck the slope of a mountain located in the Alborz Mountain Range. The wreckage was found few hours later in a snow covered terrain about 29 km north of Tehran Airport. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and none of the 128 occupants survived the crash.
Probable cause:
It is believed that the accident was the consequence of a controlled flight into terrain, favored by an inoperable instrument landing system (ILS) of runway 29, when the ground radar was inoperative. The accident occurred just three hours after the Iranian air traffic controllers had resumed work after a strike period till 1600LT. The lack of visibility due to night and poor weather conditions remains a contributing factor.

Crash of a Lockheed C-130H Hercules in Shiraz: 9 killed

Date & Time: Dec 21, 1976
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
5-8536
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Tehran - Shiraz
MSN:
4463
YOM:
1972
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
4
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
9
Circumstances:
On approach to Shiraz in bad weather conditions, the airplane struck a mountain and crashed. All nine occupants were killed.

Crash of a Boeing 747-131F in Huete: 17 killed

Date & Time: May 9, 1976 at 1535 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
5-283
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Tehran - Madrid - McGuire
MSN:
19677/73
YOM:
1970
Flight number:
ULF48
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
7
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
17
Circumstances:
The airplane was completing a military logistic flight from Tehran to McGuire AFB via Madrid, carrying Iranian and US officers. The flight took off from Tehran at 08:20 GMT and climbed to a cruising altitude of FL330. After establishing contact with Madrid control, clearance was received to CPL VOR via Castejon. At 14:25 the flight was cleared to FL100. At 14:30 the crew advised Madrid that they were diverting to the left because of thunderstorm activity, and at 14:32 Madrid cleared ULF48 to 5,000 feet and directed him to contact Madrid approach control. At 14:33 the crew contacted approach control and advised them that there was too much weather activity ahead and requested to be vectored around it. Last radio contact was when ULF48 acknowledged the 260° heading instructions and informed Madrid that they were descending to 5,000 feet. The aircraft was later found to have crashed in farmland at 3,000 feet msl following left wing separation. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all 17 occupants have been killed.
Probable cause:
After analyzing all of the available evidence, it is concluded that the most probable sequence of events which culminated with multiple structural failures and separation of the wing began with an ignition of the fuel vapors in the n°1 fuel tank. The damage to the structure in the area of the tank provided positive indications of an explosion. The possibility that the explosion was a secondary result of structural failure caused by excessive aerodynamics forces developed during high velocity gusts and turbulence cannot be completely dismissed; however, the evidence and the probabilities of an aircraft's encountering these unique environmental conditions make this hypothesis less supportable.
Final Report:

Crash of a Dassault Falcon 20E in Kermanshah: 2 killed

Date & Time: Nov 21, 1974
Type of aircraft:
Registration:
EP-AGX
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Tehran - Kermanshah
MSN:
283
YOM:
1973
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
On approach to Kermanshah Airport, the crew encountered poor visibility due to foggy conditions. Apparently to establish a visual contact with the ground, the crew decided to reduce his altitude when the airplane struck a hill located 3 km short of runway threshold. Out of control, the airplane crashed in flames 300 meters further. Two crew members were killed while a third occupant was injured.
Probable cause:
The crew decided to continue the approach in foggy conditions without any visual contact with the ground. At the time of the accident, Kermanshah Airport was not equipped with a control tower.