The Herald (Glasgow), January 7, 1995
Copyright 1995 Caledonian Newspapers Ltd.
The Herald (Glasgow)
January 7, 1995
SECTION: Pg. 4
LENGTH: 547 words
HEADLINE: Iranian air force chief and aides die in plane crash
BYLINE: Sharif Imam-Jomeh
BODY:
Tehran, Friday
A PLANE crash killed Iran's air force commander along with four generals and
seven other officers, delivering a severe blow to the Iranian military.
The plane carrying the commander, Brigadier General Mansour Sattari, and his
senior aides crashed last night when trying to land at Isfahan in central Iran
after developing technical problems, Tehran Radio said today. Armed Forces Chief
of Staff General Ali Shahbazi told the radio the officers had taken off in a
Lockheed C-140 JetStar from Isfahan's Shahid Babaei air base for a destination
he did not specify.
"The plane developed a technical fault after a short while. They decided
to land in Isfahan again. The plane crashed on the tarmac when landing,"
Shahbazi said.
All 12 passengers and crew were killed, he added.
"This is a great loss to their co-fighters," Shahbazi said.
Asked about the cause of the crash, Shahbazi said an investigation was launched
and he hoped results would be announced soon.
The plane was heading from Isfahan to Tehran, 200 miles to the north, according
to Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati who was delivering a sermon at Tehran's Friday prayer
meeting.
Iran's IRNA news agency named the four brigadier generals killed along with
Sattari as: chief of air force staff Alireza Yassini, deputy commander for operations
Mostafa Ardestani, head of the engineering department Ahmad Shojaei, and head
of the controller department Hassan Razzaqi.
The other victims were two colonels, a major, a captain and three lieutenants.
Tehran Radio said a funeral was held in Isfahan today.
The incident is the second time since the 1979 Islamic revolution that Iran's
air force chief and senior officers have died in a plane crash.--Reuter.
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