Posted on 02/12/2002 12:45:55 AM PST by kattracks
TEHRAN (Reuters) - An Iranian plane carrying 105 passengers crashed near the western city of Khorramabad on Tuesday, but there was no word on casualties, the official IRNA news agency said.
A senior official at the state carrier, Iran Air, said the aircraft, a Russian-built Tupelov-154 with a capacity of 148 passengers, belonged to its affiliated company Iran Air Tours.
He said the plane, flying from Tehran to Khorramabad early on Tuesday, disappeared off radar screens southwest of the city.
Khorramabad lies east of the Zagros mountain range running along the border with Iraq. State radio reported villagers in the mountainous Yaft-e Kouh area were startled by a loud explosion early in the morning.
Iran Air Tours mainly leases aircraft from former Soviet countries. The runway at Khorramabad airport is too small to accommodate wide-bodied aircraft, the official said.
Iranian airlines have been dogged by accidents in recent years.
Subject to U.S. sanctions, the country has had difficulty obtaining spare parts for it ageing fleet of aircraft, many of them Boeings acquired before the 1979 Islamic revolution. Instead, it has leased planes from the former Soviet Union.
Last May, a Russian-built Yakovlev Yak-40 aircraft carrying 30 people, including the transport minister and seven parliamentarians, crashed near the northern town of Sari, killing all on board.
Iranian MPs called for tighter aircraft safety controls following that crash.
U.S. sanctions bar the sale of Boeing airliners to the Islamic Republic and hinder the acquisition of other aircraft, many of which rely on U.S.-built engines or other components.
Washington imposed sanctions in 1996, under the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act, saying Iran sponsored terrorism.
Yes, it Reuters, after all.
Yep, it's all America's fault.
Nevermind that the plane was probably loaded with future terrorists headed for the Iraqi border for their camel ride to Syria and then on to Lebanon and then after that, infiltarion into Israel to kill some Mom picking her kid up from day care...
...or maybe to blow up some pizzahut...?
...or maybe a wedding...?
...perhaps a busy cafe...?
...or city bus...?
...lob some mortars into a playground...?
...sniper fire into a schoolyard...?
...etc etc.
105 Iranians dead...? Good riddance!
It is your fault! It is my fault! The blood of these Iranians is smothered all over the hands of every friggin tax paying American!
As a matter of fact...
Everything wrong in the universe can be traced back to the founding Fathers.
...just accept it Man!
I thought for a moment that I'd get to the bottom of this thread without anyone saying this. No such luck. Shame on you, for rejoicing at the death of 105 innocents, probably including children and old people. You're no better than the Palestinian scum who celebrated on 9/11.
I despise the Iranian government, but the people themselves are oppressed and want freedom. Good riddance? I guess innocent Iranian life has no value to you. Pretty sad...
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