Iranian Airforce Crash

Military plane crashes in Tehran

An Iranian military plane has crashed while taking off from an airport in Tehran, killing elite troops.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that 36 people on board the Russian-built Antonov-74 had been killed – 30 soldiers and six crew.

Two soldiers survived and were being treated in hospital, it added.

The commander of the Revolutionary Guards suggested to a local news agency that there may have been foul play, but he gave no further details.

The plane was due to fly from Mehrabad airport to the southern city of Shiraz.

“It crashed at the end of the runway,” Reza Jafarzadeh, a spokesman for the Iranian civil aviation organisation was quoted as saying by Fars news agency.

Earlier, reports had suggested all 38 people on board had been killed.

The statement from the Revolutionary Guards said that the soldiers “were going to southern Iran on a mission”.

Poor record

The Revolutionary Guards are believed to have wide influence in the presidency of Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

There were reportedly several senior officers on board the plane.

The BBC correspondent in Tehran says Iran has an appalling air safety record.

There have been a number of disasters in recent years – this is the fourth plane crash in less than a year.

Almost a year ago, a military transport aircraft crashed, killing 128 people.

That plane was attempting an emergency landing at Tehran airport when it hit a 10-storey building nearby.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6186656.stm

Interesting reference to foul play? Excuse?