Technical Fault Blamed for Iran’s Antonov Plane Crash, CAO Says
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The final result of investigations into the main causes of the fatal crash of Iran-140 airplane near Tehran 18 months ago showed that technical fault caused the crash, Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization (CAO) announced.
“More than 18 months after Antonov-140 plane crash and after thousands of man hours of work by a team of experts to investigate the incident, the investigation was completed,” Director of Public Relations Department of the CAO Reza Jafarzadeh said.
It was revealed that technical fault was the main reason behind the crash of the flight from Tehran to Tabas, he added.
The official also emphasized that given the performance of the aircraft and specialized investigations and after looking into all possibilities, a defect in electronic control system of the engines has caused the tragedy.
The plane, an Iran-140 of Ukraine's Antonov origin, crashed on August 10, 2014, in west of the capital Tehran, shortly after take-off from Mehrabad Airport.
The aircraft had 48 passengers and crew on board, of whom 39 died.
Hours after the crash, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani ordered the grounding of the entire fleet of the country's Iran-140 planes.
According to Rouhani's order, the ban was to remain in place until full investigation is conducted into the cause of the crash.
The Antonov An-140 commercial passenger airplane is a twin-engine turbojet aircraft, which can accommodate up to 100 passengers.
After purchasing the production license for the An-140 from Ukraine in 2000, Iran built its first Iran-140 passenger plane in 2003.
