What happened
On September 1, 2006, an Iran Airtour Tupolev Tu-154M aircraft, registration EP-IAT, was operating a domestic flight from Bandar Abbas to Mashhad. The aircraft carried 137 passengers and a crew of 11 individuals. Upon arriving at Mashhad International Airport, the plane touched down at approximately 13:45 local time. Shortly after landing, the aircraft caught fire. Emergency services responded to the scene, but the blaze resulted in significant loss of life. A total of 28 people perished in the incident, while the remaining occupants survived.
Investigation
Official inquiries into the accident did not identify a definitive primary cause with certainty. However, investigators determined that the most likely contributing factor was a failure of the nose landing gear tire during the landing roll. The aircraft had been in service since 1988, originally operated by Aeroflot before being leased by Iran Airtour in August 2005. At the time of the crash, the plane had accumulated approximately 19,000 flight hours across roughly 2,200 flights.
Findings
The crash highlighted potential risks associated with aging aircraft components and tire integrity during critical landing phases. While the exact mechanical failure point was not fully detailed in public reports, the consensus pointed toward the nose gear tire bursting as the trigger for the subsequent fire. The incident remains a notable aviation accident in Iran's history due to the number of casualties involved.