135 passengers escape death in another plane accident in Iran

Caspian Airline after it skidded off runway

A Caspian Airlines plane skid off the runway onto a highway on landing at an airport in southwestern Iran on Monday. But all passengers were evacuated without injury, Iranian state media reported. “It ran out of runway when landing at Mahshahr airport with no casualties,’’ state news agency, IRNA, said. Some other Iranian media outlets reported 135 passengers and seven crew members were on board, however, there was no official confirmation.

IRNA, quoting local aviation officials, said a technical issue delayed the plane’s landing, which caused the accident. Iranian media reported that the pilot was unable to deploy the landing gear, adding that the incident was being investigated. “The plane did not catch fire and all passengers safely left the plane,’’ Managing Director of Khuzestan Airports, Mohammad Reza Rezaei, told IRNA. On Saturday, an Iranian aeroplane en-route from Tehran to Istanbul made an emergency landing at a Tehran airport because of a technical problem. (Reuters/NAN)