Taban Air Flight 6437
Taban Air Flight 6437 was a scheduled domestic flight that crashed on landing at Mashhad, Iran on 24 January 2010. All 170 people escaped from the burning aircraft without loss of life. Most of the passengers were pilgrims returning from visiting holy sites in Iraq.[1]
 RA-85787 seen on approach to Mehrabad International Airport in February 2009 | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 24 January 2010 |
| Summary | Runway excursion due to pilot error. |
| Site | Mashhad International Airport, Iran 36°14′06″N 59°38′27″E |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Tupolev Tu-154M |
| Aircraft name | Surgut (Сургу́т) |
| Operator | Taban Air |
| Registration | RA-85787 |
| Flight origin | Abadan-Ayatollah Jami International Airport, Iran |
| Stopover | Isfahan International Airport, Iran |
| Destination | Mashhad International Airport, Mashhad, Iran |
| Occupants | 170 |
| Passengers | 157 |
| Crew | 13 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 47 |
| Survivors | 170 (all) |
Aircraft
The aircraft involved was a Tupolev Tu-154M. It was registered RA-85787.[2] The aircraft first flew in 1993.[3]
Accident
Flight 6437 was being operated by Kolavia on behalf of Taban Air. It had originated at Abadan and had diverted to Isfahan due to poor visibility at Mashhad. Once visibility improved, the aircraft took off again, but the visibility deteriorated before Flight 6437 could land.[4] The flight was holding near Mashhad International Airport when a passenger fell seriously ill. The crew were told and they declared a medical emergency. They decided to land at Mashhad on an ILS approach for runway 31R despite the low visibility. During the landing the tail struck the ground causing the aircraft to veer off the runway, the nose gear to collapse, the right wing to strike the ground, and a fire. All passengers and crew survived the accident with 47 receiving injuries.[5][6][7] The METAR in force at the time of the accident was OIMM 240350Z 00000KT 0200 FG VV002 02/02 Q1021 A3017.[4][8]
Investigation
The Iranian Civil Aviation Authority opened an investigation into the accident. On 26 January 2010, it was reported that Russia's Interstate Aviation Committee had joined the investigation.[4]
The final accident report was released on 28 December 2012, listing the sole cause as pilot error. [9]
References
- Taban plane crash. Many passengers were Pilgrims
- Kaminski-Morrow, David. "Taban Tu-154 breaks up on landing at Mashhad". Flight Global. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- Kolavia Tu-154 crashes
- Hradecky, Simon. "Accident: Kolavia T154 at Mashad on Jan 24th 2010, medical emergency, risky landing, aircraft burst into flames". Aviation Herald. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- Taban Air plane catches fire trying to land in Iran
- Taban Air Flight 6437
- Iranian plane catches fire on landing
- Translation of METAR: METAR for Mashhad International Airport, issued on the 24th of the month at 03:50 UTC. Wind calm, visibility 200 metres (660 ft), fog, vertical visibility 200 feet (61 m), temperature 2 °C (36 °F), dewpoint 2 °C (36 °F), QNH 1021 hPA, altimeter setting 30.17 inches.
- Russian pilot blamed for Taban Air Flight 6437 crash