Itek Air Boeing 737-219 plane crash
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Updated on
The Boeing 737-200 was on a passenger flight from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, bound for Tehran, Iran. 83 passengers and 7 crew members were on board. The plane, owned by Itek-Air, a private Kyrgyz company, was chartered by the Iranian company Iran Aseman Airlines. It crashed minutes after take-off from Bishkek-Manas International Airport. 65 people died, and 25 survived the crash.
The crew reported a technical problem shortly after it had taken off and tried to return to the airport. The plane had suffered a sudden loss of cabin pressure, causing the pilot to request an emergency landing. But the pilot was not able to reach the airport. Ten minutes after take off, the Boeing 737 crash-landed in a field a few kilometres away from the runway and caught fire.
Plane wreckage and body parts were found strewn across a large area, suggesting the impact with the ground were violent, and that the plane skidded on a long distance before coming to a stop.
Itek Air is on the European Union blacklist of airlines banned from flying in EU airspace (European Union blacklist applicable on August 25th 2008). The Boeing 737-200 involved in the accident was produced in 1979, which is quite old for a passenger aircraft.
Itek Air is currently on the blacklist of airlines banned from flying in the European Union.
