Iran Air Flight 277
Iran Air Flight 277 was a passenger flight which crashed near Urmia Airport, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran, on January 9, 2011. 77 of the 105 aboard died. The aircraft involved, a Boeing 727-286Adv, was operating Iran Air's scheduled domestic service from Mehrabad International Airport, Tehran, to Urmia. It crashed after a go-around was initiated during final approach, in poor weather conditions.
Aircraft
The aircraft involved in the accident was a Boeing 727, registration EP-IRP, built in 1974. The aircraft had spent a long time out of service. It was impounded at Baghdad, Iraq from 1984 to 1990, and then placed in storage from 1991 to 2002. It was then overhauled and returned to service.
Accident
The flight was travelling between Tehran and Urmia and crashed on final approach near Urmia Airport. The accident occurred at around 19:45 local time (16:15 UTC), and was reportedly caused by poor weather. The aircraft had missed its first attempt at landing; it either crashed during a go-around, or while attempting to return to Tehran. The weather conditions at the time of the accident included snow and low visibility. Upon impact, the aircraft broke into multiple pieces, though without fire or explosions. There were differing initial reports as to the type of aircraft that crashed, with either a Fokker 100 or a Boeing 727 claimed to have crashed, although the aircraft was later confirmed to be a Boeing 727.
