16 dead in Saha Airlines crash near Tehran

At around 8:30 a.m. of Jan. 14 local time, a B707 military aircraft operated by Saha Airlines that was carrying meat in route from Manas Airport (FRU) to Payam Airport (PYK) crashed into a residential area near Tehran, killing 16 of the 17 people onboard. One survivor is in critical condition at a local hospital.

The aircraft was attempting to make an emergency landing at Fath Airport (DMM) – instead of its intended destination 25 miles away – and overran the runway, crashing through a fence and ending up in a residential neighborhood in the town of Safadasht, about 40 miles from Tehran, where it damaged houses and caused a fire.

In November last year, another commercial airliner mistook DMM for PYK, but successfully aborted its landing, according to the Washington Post. Today, the Islamic Republic-run news agency IRNA quoted an anonymous aviation official who said today’s accident could have been the result of a similar mistake made by the pilot.