A packed Airbus A319, operated by Iran’s flag carrier, failed to land safely at Kermanshah Airport, ending up in the middle of a snow-covered field off the runway. Authorities blame the incident on a faulty landing gear.
The Iran Air plane departed Tehran's Mehrabad Airport earlier on Saturday, carrying 102 passengers and eight crew, according to Mehr news agency, citing a Civil Aviation Organization official. It ran out of runway when landing at Kermanshah later in the day, it has emerged.
No casualties were reported in the incident. Local media released footage suggesting that the jet was undamaged as passengers could disembark using the stairway.
Meanwhile, the governor of Kermanshah told IRNA that the A319 had landed "without any problems," but one of its wheels "slipped" while taxiing on the runway. He said the incident was caused by heavy snowfall and a flaw with the landing gear.
A similar incident occurred last Monday in the city of Mahshahrm, when a Caspian Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-83 overshot the runway and ended up belly-down in the middle of a highway. Several of the 136 people on board suffered minor injuries, but no one died during the botched landing.
Also on rt.com Passenger plane with 130 on board slides off runway, stops in the middle of a road in western Iran (VIDEO)The day before that incident, a Tehran-bound passenger plane operated by Qeshm Air was forced to return to Gorgan Airport in northern Iran, as one of its engines reportedly caught fire shortly after takeoff. The aircraft made an emergency landing and its 85 passengers were safely evacuated.
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