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Iranian Doomed Plane Possibly Struck by Lightning
TEHRAN, May 19 (IslamOnLine & News Agencies) - Aviation officials announced Saturday that the Iranian airplane, crashed in mountainous terrain killing everyone on board, may have lost its navigation system after being struck by lightning, news agencies reported.
Civil aviation director Behzad Mazaheri, quoted by state television, said the Russian-made Yak-40, which belonged to Faraz-e Qeshm airlines, appears to have been hit by lightning as it was flying through heavy storms Thursday, according to a preliminary investigation.
Meanwhile, rescue teams, who have been working in heavy fog and rain, have found the "black box", or flight recorder, which will give further clues to why the doomed plane crashed outside the northern city of Sari, killing Transport Minister Rahman Dadman and some 30 others, including seven MPs.
Deputy governor general, Ahmed Majidi, of the province announced Friday night that the black box, containing the latest information about the flight condition and conversations of the pilot, has been passed on to the officials of the Civil Aviation Organization (CAO).
Majidi further remarked that the black box will greatly help in finding out the causes of the incident.
Rescue workers told the state IRNA news agency Friday that the wreckage had been located by calling the mobile phone of one of the passengers and tracking the rings.
Officials said Saturday that 28 bodies had been located, but rescue teams are still searching for those missing, who were hampered by inclement weather as well as the difficult mountainous terrain, IRNA reported.
Local media published a list of 30 passengers on the flight, although civil aviation officials said earlier there had been 32 people aboard.
The Russian-built plane flew from Tehran for Sari on 06:45 a.m. on Thursday, but the connection between the aviation station and the plane was cut off minutes after the takeoff as it disappeared from radar screens after the pilot radioed to say he would attempt an emergency landing at Sari.
The plane crashed in a mountainous region near the village of Khartshang, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Sari in Mazandaran province.
President Mohammad Khatami expressed condolences to the bereaved families, the nation, the government and Majlis on the sad incident.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a message on Friday, expressing his deep sorrow over the tragic incident which "deprived the nation of a group of industrious and sincere officials on a mission in line of duty."
MP Mohsen Nariman, who will lead a parliamentary investigation into the disaster, was quoted by state media saying that Iranian aviation was being held back by embargoes of high-technology equipment.
"The embargo placed on Iran, especially for navigation systems, is an obstacle to modernize our planes," he said.
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