What happened
On the scheduled flight from Tehran-Imam Khomeiny Airport to Yerevan, a three-engine aircraft departed at 11:17 local time. The flight was carrying a total of 158 passengers and 10 crew members.
Approximately sixteen minutes into the flight, while the aircraft was maintaining a cruising altitude of FL340 over the Qazvin region, the flight path deviated significantly. The aircraft altered its heading to 270° and began a rapid descent, dropping 20,000 feet within a 90-second period. The aircraft entered a near-vertical attitude before striking an open field. The impact was severe enough to create a large crater and caused the aircraft to disintegrate. There were 168 fatalities as all occupants perished in the accident.
Findings
No specific findings regarding the underlying cause were provided in the source material, though the descent was characterized by a sudden change in heading and a rapid loss of altitude.