Caspian Airlines Flight 7908 Tupolev 154 Deadly Crash

Plane Crash Leaves 168 Dead in Iran

A passenger Tupolev 154 bound for Armenia from Iran crashed Wednesday morning 75 miles northwest of Tehran, and all 168 people aboard are believed to be dead, Iranian state media reported.

The Russian-made Tupolev 154 crashed near the city of Qazvin at about 11:30 a.m. local time after leaving Tehran on a flight to Yerevan, the Armenian capital, said Qazvin police chief Hussein Behzadpour, in comments to Iran’s English language Press TV.

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The Tupolev 154, operated by Tehran-based Caspian Airlines, was carrying 153 passengers and 15 crew members, state television reported. Television images from the scene showed smoking ruins, with body parts and bits of the plane’s shattered fuselage scattered on the field where the plane crashed. Emergency workers could be seen picking through the wreckage. The crash gouged a trench more than 10 feet deep in the field, near the village of Jannatabad, state news agencies said.

The spokesman for Iran’s Aviation Organization, Reza Jafarzadeh, told Press TV that the Tupolev 154, Flight 7908, crashed 16 minutes after taking off from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Airport. The cause of the accident is not yet known, and investigators were combing the wreckage Wednesday for the “black box” flight recorders, which contain recordings of the flight crew’s conversations as well as data such as its speed, altitude and heading.

Sirous Saberi, deputy governor of Qazvin province, told Iran’s Mehr news agency that Caspian Airlines Flight 7908 had experienced a technical problem shortly after takeoff and was attempting to return to the airport in Tehran. One unidentified witness told the semi-official ISNA news agency that the plane’s tail was on fire before it landed. Another witness quoted by state television said the plane, which was loaded with fuel, had exploded on impact.

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Six Armenian citizens and two Georgian citizens were on Caspian Airlines Flight 7908, and the rest were likely Iranians, The Associated Press reported, citing the deputy chairman of Armenia’s civil aviation authority in Yerevan. Eight members of Iran’s national youth judo team, along with two coaches and a delegation chief, were on Caspian Airlines Flight 7908, on their way to train with the Armenian judo team and attend a competition in Hungary in August, the semi-official Iranian Labor News Agency said.

The head of the disaster management center in Iran’s Health Ministry told state news agencies that all aboard were confirmed dead.

Wednesday’s crash was the first fatal accident for Caspian Airlines, which was founded in 1992 and operated a fleet of six Tupolev 154 airliners, all of which date from the mid-1980s to early 1990s. The aircraft that crashed Wednesday was built in 1986 and was leased to Caspian Airlines in 1998. It is believed to be owned by VARZ-400, a Russian aircraft maintenance and overhaul company, according to Ascend, a London-based aviation industry consulting company.

Iran has a checkered history when it comes to air safety, and many of its deadliest disasters have involved its aging fleet of Soviet-designed planes. In 2006, a Tupolev 154 operated by Iran Airtour burst into flames upon landing in Tehran, killing 29 of the 148 people on board. Airtour, which is affiliated with Iran’s national carrier, suffered another fatal accident in 2002, when another Tupolev-built jet plowed into a mountainside, killing all 119 on board.

In 2005, a Boeing C-130 operated by the Iranian military rammed into a housing complex shortly after takeoff from Tehran’s Mehrabad airport, killing 115 people, including 21 on the ground.

With no domestic aviation industry, Iran is dependent on foreign manufacturers for its planes. But trade sanctions in place for the past three decades have hampered access to spare parts as well as purchases of more modern aircraft, particularly from American manufacturers like Boeing. In 2005, the International Civil Aviation Organization, an arm of the United Nations, warned that sanctions flouted international treaties and placed civilian lives in danger.

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Caspian Airlines passed an operational safety audit in 2007 by the International Air Transport Association, which approved the airline’s overall safety standards and procedures, including those of its engineering and aircraft maintenance operations. The airline is due to seek renewal of its safety certification by the end of November.

Wednesday’s crash is the eighth fatal accident suffered by the Tupolev 154 in the past 10 years, including one, in 2004, that was the result of a terrorist attack on a Russian carrier. Since entering service in 1971, the Tupolev 154 has suffered 54 crashes, resulting in the deaths of 2,602 passengers and 258 crew members, according to Ascend.

A passenger list of those who died in the plane crash in Iran of Caspian Airlines flight 7908 has not yet been released

Yemeni Airlines Flight 626 Crashes into Indian Ocean

A Yemeni Airlines Airbus A310 Jet carrying 153 people crashed into the Indian Ocean during severe weather. This would be the third Airbus jet to crash under similar situations. The first being back on November 12th, 2001 when the A300 American Airlines flight 587 crashed as a result of the overuse of the rudder control caused the tail section to rip off. The root cause of this crash was faulty air speed tubes which provided the pilot with faulty air speed readings.

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More recently, Air France flight 447 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on June 1, 2009. Although the cause of this crash has not been released yet, there is speculation it may have been as a result of faulty air speed tubes as the tail was ripped off in a manner similar to that of the American Airlines flight.

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This problem with faulty air speed tubes is a known issue and Air France Pilots union in Paris France said all pilots should refuse to fly Airbus 330's on any long haul flights unless the flight speed detectors are upgraded with improved airspeed detectors.


According to French Transport Minister Dominique Bussereau, the Yemeni Airlines A310 was inspected in 2007 by French transportation authorities who "noticed a certain number of faults. Since then the plane had not returned to France,". It is not known if these faults were in relation to the Air Speed sensors or if they have even been repaired.


A report from the Yemen news agency Saba said preliminary reports blamed the crash of Yemeni Airlines flight 626, over the Indian Ocean on bad weather in the region. Deputy general manager for Yemenia operations, Mohammad Sumairi said "We still do not have information about the reason behind the crash or survivors, the weather conditions were rough: strong wind and high seas. The wind speed recorded on land at the airport was 61 kilometers [38 miles] an hour. There could be other factors."


At this time, rescue crews are on the scene of the Yemeni Airlines crash and have found 1 surviving toddler. This find is giving rescuers attending the Yemeni Airlines crash in the Indian Ocean hope of finding more survivors.

Yemeni Airlines flight 626 originated in Paris, and passengers changed planes in Sana for the Moroni leg of the journey. The plane was carrying 142 passengers and 11 crew when it crashed into the Indian Ocean.

Related links

Air France flight 447 Disappears over Atlantic Ocean
New clues as to a link between Airbus Crashes

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AIR FRANCE FLIGHT 447 New Clue's as to the CAUSE OF THE CRASH

Investigators searching the WRECKAGE OF AIR FRANCE FLIGHT 447 have found more clues as to the cause of the crash of Air France Flight 447.

The clue to the cause of the crash of Air France Flight 447 comes in the way of the fairly intact TAIL SECTION OF AIR FRANCE FLIGHT 447. The Tail of Air France Flight 447 was found almost intact which is similar to that of the November 12, 2001 crash of AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT 587 which was also an AIRBUS A300. In the American Airlines Flight 587 crash, investigators found the cause to be the first officers overuse of the rudder controls which caused the Tail section to rip off the ill fated Airbus A300.

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In addition, there is some indication the Autopilot for Air France Flight 447 was disengaged for some four minutes prior to the crash. Although the reason for the shut off of the Autopilot on Air France Flight 447 is unknown, some experts are speculating the pilot of Air France Flight 447 may have disengaged the autopilot feature due to severe storm conditions, which is a common practice.

At the same time, a representative of the Air France Pilots union in Paris France said all pilots should refuse to fly Airbus 330's on any long haul flights unless the flight speed detectors are upgraded with improved airspeed detectors.

Although there is no official announcement on the topic, speculation indicates the Pilot of Air France Flight 447 may have over compensated on the rudder control due to lack of proper knowledge of the planes air speed.

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Air France recently announced it had accelerated a program to replace the three independent flight speed detectors, known as PILOT TUBES or PILOT PROBES. Air France officials indicated the upgrading initiative was conducted "without making any assumptions" that faulty or outdated air speed indicators caused the crash of Air France Flight 447.

The discovery of the intact Tail Section of Air France Flight 447 gives raised hope to the possible discovery of the flight data recorders or "Black Box". The US Navy is enroute with high-tech underwater listening devices which investigators hope will help them to detect pings emitted from the data and voice recorders or "Black Box" of Air France Flight 447.

Brazilian and French military ships that have so far recovered 16 bodies and large amounts of plane wreckage searched amid a sea of floating debris.

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Investigators Search the wreckage of Air France Flight 447

PARIS - AP - A French accident investigator said Wednesday there were no signs of problems with Air France Flight 447 before takeoff and it was unclear whether the chief pilot was at the controls when the plane plunged into the Atlantic Ocean. The head of France's accident investigation agency, Paul-Louis Arslanian, also said he was "not optimistic" that rescuers will recover the Air France Flight 447's black boxes, believed to be on rugged terrain kilometres under the sea.

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Air France Flight 447 was carrying 228 people, lost contact with ground controllers after leaving Rio de Janeiro for Paris on Sunday night. The crew made no distress call before the crash, but the plane's system sent an automatic message just before it disappeared, reporting lost cabin pressure and electrical failure. The reason for the crash remained unclear, with fierce thunderstorms, lightning or a catastrophic combination of causes as possible theories.

Arslanian told a news conference at Le Bourget airport north of Paris that investigators were studying Air France Flight 447's maintenance and other records, and that there were "no elements" suggesting the plane had problems before takeoff. He stressed the investigation was only beginning and was likely to last a long time. He said investigators didn't have enough information to determine whether the plane broke up in the air or upon impact with the sea. "We don't even know the exact time of the accident," he said.


Asked whether the chief pilot was in the cockpit when the Air France Flight 447 went down, Arslanian said, "We don't have for the time being the answer." Pilots on long-haul flights often take turns at the controls to remain alert. "Until the last minute we all hoped it was just a normal loss of contact. It's very difficult to accept such a disaster," he said.

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Military planes and ships from Brazil and France homed in Wednesday on the bobbing wreckage of Air France Flight 447, 640 kilometres northeast of the Fernando de Noronha islands off Brazil's northern coast, where an airplane seat, a fuel slick and pieces of white debris were spotted a day earlier. Rescue boats from several nations were sailing toward the site to start the recovery.


Arslanian said if rescuers don't find the black boxes from Air France Flight 447, investigators should be prepared to continue the probe without them. The man in charge of the investigation, Alain Bouillard, led the probe into the 2000 crash of the Concorde supersonic jet. He said Wednesday the accident investigation agency, known by its French acronym BEA, would submit its first preliminary report by the end of June.

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9 DEAD IN AMSTERDAM PLANE CRASH OF TURKISH AIRLINES BOEING 737-800

SCENE OF THE TURKISH AIRLINES PLANE CRASH IN AMSTERDAM
A Turkish aircraft with 143 onboard has crashed in an Amsterdam airport reportedly leaving nine people dead and at least 50 others injured.

The Boeing 737 crashed on Wednesday while it was only 500 meters away from the airport, Turkish Transportation Minister Binali Yildirim as saying. The casualty toll was revealed at a press conference at the airport.

Some passengers were seen leaving the crash site in the Dutch capital's Schiphol airport after the passenger jet hit the ground breaking in three parts, reports said.

Officials in Istanbul's Ataturk Airport said the plane belonging to the Turkish Airways (THY) was carrying 135 passengers and eight flight crew.

"All air traffic is blocked" due to the mishap, Melanie Smieder of the airport's press service, told AFP adding that medical and firefighting teams were attending to the survivors.

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A Turkish Airlines jet carrying 135 people crashed into a field on its approach to Schiphol Airport outside Amsterdam after a flight from Istanbul on Wednesday, killing nine people and injuring 50, airport authorities and Turkish officials said.

In Ankara, Suat Hayri Aka, a senior transportation official, told a news conference that 20 of the injured appeared to be in serious condition. Three of the dead were crew members, according to Turkish news reports.Television images showed the aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, lying fractured into three parts after it slammed into the ground while approaching the runway. The aircraft did not catch fire.
Witnesses said the plane’s engines broke off and landed some about 100 yards from the wrecked fuselage in a plowed field.

Michel Bezuijen, acting mayor of Haarlemmermeer, close to Schiphol, told a news conference: “At this moment there are nine victims to mourn and more than 50 injured.”

He said there was no immediate word on the cause of the accident.

In the confusion following the crash, reports varied over how far the site was from the runway. Initial reports said it was three miles from the airport, but later versions put it closer.

In a statement, the Amsterdam airport authorities said the plane, Turkish Airlines flight TK1951, which left Istanbul at 8:22 a.m. on Wednesday, made a crash landing along a highway near the airport with 128 passengers and 7 crew members on board.

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Flights to and from the airport, halted because of the accident, were gradually being resumed, the airport said.

The crash took place in calm weather with a light drizzle. Unlike a deadly accident in Madrid last summer when a Spanair flight crashed while taking off, no fire broke out during Wednesday’s crash.

Tuncer Mutlucan, a passenger who survived the crash, told NTV, a private broadcaster in Turkey, “It was the back of the plane that hit the ground. We left the plane from the back. My colleague and I saw people stuck in between seats as we were trying to leave and we tried to help them.”

“ It all happened in something like ten seconds,” Mr. Mutlucan said

Candan Karlitekin, the chairman of Turkish Airlines, said most of the injured were seated at the back of the plane.

“There was nothing extraordinary about the weather conditions, vision capability was 4,500 meters. Around 500 meters away from the landing strip, the plane landed in a field. The plane was broken into three parts, as you all saw in pictures.”

Mr. Kotil said that the pilot, Hasan Tahsin Ari, was one of the airline’s most experienced pilots. The company was planning a flight from to Amsterdam from Istanbul for relatives of the crash victims.

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The flight crew were identified as Captain Marvin Renslow, who had flown 3,379 hours with Colgan Air.

Also on the flight:

• First Officer Rebecca Shaw

• Flight Attendant Matilda Quintero

• Flight Attendant Donna Prisco

• Captain Joseph Zuffoletto, an off-duty crew member, was also aboard flight 3407.

A PASSENGER LIST OF CONTINENTAL FLIGHT 3407 is not available as of yet. Unfortunately everyone on CONTINENTAL FLIGHT 3407 is reported dead.

According to early reports, Flight 3407 operated by Colgan Air departing from Newark abruptly lost contact with air traffic control before crashing about five miles from its destination, Buffalo Niagara International Airport. Ice build-up on the Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 74-seat turboprop may also have been to blame; in tapes released last night, air traffic control can be heard checking with other flight crews before vainly attempting to contact the pilot of Flight 3407.

Passengers included a Jacksonville, Florida law student and a September 11 widow who listened to her husband via cell phone while he was in the south tower. This is the first fatal crash in the U.S. since August 2006. An investigation into the crash site has been delayed while the wreckage is still burning.

It was the first commercial fatal aviation crash in the United States in more than two years.

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Erie County Executive Chris Collins held a 4:00 a.m. press conference and calls the scene "surreal." He says the aircraft apparently exploded on impact creating a massive fire with huge flames. The home is next to a firehouse so emergency personnel were quick to respond. Hundreds of rescue workers from dozens of local agencies responded.
Millard Fillmore Suburban, a Kaleida Health facility, is treating two female residents from Long Street where the plane crashed. They were transported by ambulance to the hospital at approximately 11:35 p.m., with non-life threatening injuries.

The crash site is not far from the town's business district. The owners of The Perfect Gift, who also live in Clarence, said it sounded like the plane came right over their house, which is approximately two blocks from the crash site.

"It was very loud, like it was flying very low," said Nick Tangelder, whose wife Deborah owns the retail store. He says the crash site is directly behind The Perfect Gift, about 150 yards away from the building.

Authorities say the plane crashed directly into a home on Long Street. "It's incredible," Tangelder said. "Those lots are only 60 feet wide."

Tangelder expects the situation to impact or possibly close businesses in Clarence Center today. The area is under a limited state of emergency and Clarence Schools are closed today.

The National Transportation Safety Board was expected to begin its investigation of the crash early Friday morning as soon as the rubble cools off enough to begin sifting through looking for clues. Bombardier confirms the plane was a Dash 8 Q400 aircraft. The Canadian-based manufacturer has dispatched a safety and technical team to the site to assist the National Transportation Safety Board with their investigation.

Flight 3407 was one of seven incoming Continental flights scheduled for the Buffalo Niagara International Airport Thursday. The Buffalo airport handles a total of 110 daily flights from all carriers. According to the 2009 Business First Book of Lists, Continental had just over 1 percent of the 2007 market share at the airport. Continental Express had 4.4 percent. Together, they offered nearly seven thousand flights to and from BNIA and served more than 300,000 annual passengers.

Financially, Continental is struggling with volatile fuel prices and a slowdwon from the weak economy. The latest numbers show that Continental posted losses of $585 million for 2008.

Here is a list from the Associated press listed all the airline crashes with fatalities since 1995. Oddly, this list neglected to include the 911 crashes.

A list of airline accidents with fatalities in the U.S. since 1995 and before Thursday's crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 into a home in suburban Buffalo, N.Y., which killed 48 on the plane and one on the ground:

_ Aug. 27, 2006: Comair Flight 5191 crashed on takeoff from Lexington, Ky.'s Blue Grass Airport, killing 49 of the 50 people aboard. It was bound for Atlanta.

_ Oct. 19, 2004: Corporate Airlines Flight 5966 crashed in woods as it approached an airport in Kirksville, Mo., killing 13 of the 15 people on board. The plane was on a regular route from St. Louis. Federal investigators blamed pilot error.

_ Jan. 8, 2003: US Airways Express Flight 5481 crashed shortly after leaving the Charlotte, N.C., airport for Greer, S.C. All 19 passengers and the two crew members were killed. The NTSB determined that incorrect rigging of the plane's elevator control system caused the plane to lose pitch control during takeoff, resulting in the crash.

_ Nov. 12, 2001: American Airlines Flight 587 crashed in the Rockaways section of New York City, killing all 265 aboard. The John F. Kennedy International Airport flight was bound for the Dominican Republic.

_ Jan. 31, 2000: Alaska Airlines Flight 261 spiraled into the Pacific Ocean off Port Hueneme, Calif., on a flight from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to San Francisco and Seattle. All 88 people aboard died.

_ July 17, 1996: TWA Flight 800 exploded near East Moriches, N.Y., shortly after takeoff, killing 230 board. The flight was headed to Paris from John F. Kennedy International Airport.

_ May 11, 1996: Atlanta-bound ValuJet Flight 592 crashed into the Florida Everglades shortly after takeoff, killing 110 people.

_ Dec. 20, 1995: American Airlines Flight 965 from Miami crashed 38 miles north of Cali, Colombia, during descent, killing 159 people. Four passengers survived.

_ Aug. 21, 1995: Southeast Airlines Flight 529, a commuter flight from Atlanta to Mississippi, crashed during an emergency landing in a hayfield near Carrolton, Ga., killing eight of the 29 people aboard. A propeller blade broke off mid-flight, causing the aircraft to lose control.

CONTINENTAL AIRLINES FLIGHT 1404 Skids off Runway

Continental Airlines Inc. is looking into a weekend accident in which a flight bound for George Bush International Airport from Denver International Airport went off the runway.

The Houston airline’s flight 1404, a Boeing 737-500 aircraft carrying 110 passengers and five crew members, was unable to take off, ran off the runway and caught fire, according to news agencies. About 38 of those on board suffered injuries.

Continental (NYSE: CAL) is cooperating with authorities and is in the process of collecting additional information about the Saturday evening accident.

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“The care of our passengers, crew and family members is our highest priority and they will receive any assistance necessary,” said Larry Kellner, Continental Airlines’ chairman and chief executive officer. “We are deeply concerned by this accident and will do everything we can for the passengers, their families and our co-workers.”

Relatives and friends of those traveling on flight 1404 who want to give or receive information about those on board should telephone Continental at 800-621-3263 or go to the airline’s Web site at www.continental.com.

Continental Flight 1404 was almost completely full, speeding down the runway, taking off for houston when something went wrong.

"The plane got really bumpy and I figured we're hitting the ground now," passenger Gabriel Trejos said.

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The plane careened out of control, about 200 yards off the runway at Denver International Airport, coming to rest in a ravine. The landing gear sheered off and the plane was on fire.

"On my side of the plane, I could see the engine I noticed it was on fire I could feel the heat coming from the window," Gabriel said.

Trejos and his wife were sitting in Row 19 with their one-year-old son. Once the plane came to rest, passengers began panicking.

"We had another guy yelling the planes gonna blow up the planes gonna explode," Gabriel said.

"I can remember we were in the aisle, and I didn't want to leave my husband but I knew I had to get the baby off," Gabriel's wife Maria said.

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110 passengers and five crews members escaped through emergency exits. Now federal investigators have the task of figuring out why the plane veered off the runway and caught fire.

Some of the passengers who survived Flight 1404 finally arrived in Houston on Sunday.

Plane Crash in Guatamala Kills 10 - including 8 Americans

Cessna Caravan 208 was en route from Aurora to El Estor

Pilot started making distress calls about 45 minutes after takeoff

Plane crashed in Zacapa, about 115 kilometers (71 miles) east of Guatemala City

A plane crash in eastern Guatemala on Sunday killed 10 people, including eight Americans, a Guatemalan official told CNN.

A Cessna Caravan 208 carrying 14 people was en route from Aurora to El Estor when the pilot started making distress calls about engine failure about 45 minutes after takeoff, said Jose Carlos, Guatemala's director of civil aeronautics.

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The air traffic tower in Guatemala City lost communication with the plane at 9:45 a.m.

The plane crashed in Zacapa, an agricultural hub about 115 kilometers (71 miles) east of Guatemala City, killing the pilot Monica Bonilla, co-pilot Luis Fernando LanFiesta and the Americans.

Four other passengers were injured and taken to a local hospital.

"It seems like the pilot tried her best to make a safe landing in a open field, but was not successful," said Ricardo Lemus, a Zacapa firefighter at the scene of the crash told reporters.

"On impact, the aircraft was split into pieces."

The charter flight was operated by Aero Ruta Maya.