AFP: An Iranian Mahan Air plane made an emergency landing on foam at Tehran’s Mehrabad airport due to faulty landing gear, without causing any casualties, Mehr news agency said on Sunday.
TEHRAN, June 19, 2011 (AFP) – An Iranian Mahan Air plane made an emergency landing on foam at Tehran’s Mehrabad airport due to faulty landing gear, without causing any casualties, Mehr news agency said on Sunday.
The Mahan Air “Airbus made an emergency landing on Saturday after the pilot informed the control tower that the plane’s landing gear was not functioning,” Mehr said.
It did not specify how many passengers were on the flight, which took off from the Shiite holy city of Mashhad in northeast Iran.
“Mehrabad runway was covered with foam to prevent a fire upon the plane’s impact on the tarmac. Due to the pilot’s skill, the plane landed without any casualties,” Mehr said.
Iran’s civil and military fleet is made up of aging aircraft in poor condition. Under years of international sanctions, the Islamic republic has suffered several aviation disasters over the past decade.
In January, 77 people died when a Boeing 727 of state-run Iran Air crashed near the city of Orumiyeh. The deadliest came in February 2003 when a plane carrying members of the elite Revolutionary Guards crashed, killing 302 people.
