Saha Air Boeing 707-3J9C plane crash
Fath, Iran
Updated on
The Boeing 707-300 freighter operated by Saha Airlines took off from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, for a cargo flight to Karaj, Iran. 16 crewmembers were onboard. The plane was on approach to Karaj's Payam Airport in adverse weather conditions but mistakenly landed on Fath's airport (both airports are close together). The runway at Fath's airport being more than three times shorter, the plane overran the runway and crashed in a residential area past the end of the runway and burst into flames. 15 occupants were killed in the accident, and one flight engineer survived.
The Boeing 707 was carrying a cargo of meat. The plane was on approach to Karaj's Payam Airport's runway 30 (length 3659 meters / 12,000 feet) when the crew descended towards and landed on Fath's airport 31L (length 1300 meters / 4300 feet). The visibility was low at the time of the accident, at around 3 km with snowfall. The runway did not offer enough distance for a Boeing 707 to land and stop. The aircraft smashed through the airport perimeter wall, crashed into houses past the end of the runway and burst into flames. One house was destroyed, a number of houses were damaged.
The runways of the airports of Payam at Fath are almost in line. The thresholds of runways 30 and 31L are 10 km apart. The confusion between both runways is possible, especially in adverse weather conditions. Payam Airport offers VOR/DME, NDB/DME and NDB approaches to runway 30. A few months earlier, another aircraft had confused the same airports but gone around just before landing.
