by
Tom Boon
January 27, 2020
It appears that passengers had a lucky escape in Iran early this morning. A Caspian Airlines MD-83 skidded off the end of the runway in Mahshahr. Initial reports are suggesting that none of the 135 passengers on board the aircraft was injured in the incident.
An MD-83 overshot the runway in Iran this morning. Photo: Getty Images
Today’s MD-83 incident is the second aircraft accident in Iran this month. At the start of January, a Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 was mistakenly shot down near Tehran by the Iranian military. Thankfully, it doesn’t seem as though there was anything quite so worrying about today’s incident.
The flight in question
The flight involved in today’s incident involved a Caspian Airlines MD-83. The aircraft, EP-CPZ is over 25 years old according to data from planespotters.net. According to Sam Chui, the flight had originated in Tehran and overshot the runway landing at Mahshahr. This is backed up by a CNN report on the incident.
Images of the crash appear to show that the aircraft’s belly is resting on the ground. That is to say that it is resting on its belly. It would appear that the aircraft’s gear was ripped off during the landing.
A reporter for the state television station is said to have been on board the aircraft at the time of the crash. According to Live Mint, the state broadcaster said: “Arriving at Mahshahr airport, the pilot landed the aircraft too late and this caused him to miss the runway.” The gentleman who was on the aircraft then added that the aircraft’s “back wheel had broken off, as we saw it was left on the runway”.
Following the incident, the aircraft came to rest across a street. Photos show that the road has been completely blocked by the aircraft, which appears to have been sprayed with foam by the firefighters.
Nobody injured
Remarkably, it seems as though nobody was injured in today’s accident. In fact, the aircraft’s fuselage looks remarkably intact bar some damage to the nosecone. News reported that passengers used all of the exits to evacuate the aircraft. However, despite multiple incidents highlighting the issue recently, including an SJ100 crash last year, passengers were seen leaving the aircraft with their luggage.
Iran’s aviation authority is said to be investigating the incident. The authority is also dealing with the investigation of the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 crash at the start of the month. Iran originally said that the aircraft had suffered from technical issues. However, once more and more proof pointing to a missile strike surfaced in the west, the nation changed its direction admitting that it had accidentally shot down the aircraft.
