A Russian-made airliner skidded off the runway and caught fire Friday as it made a hard landing at an airport in eastern Iran, leaving at least 16 people dead and 21 injured, Iranian state television and official news agencies reported. It was the nation’s second deadly plane accident in as many weeks. Aria Airlines Flight 1525 from Tehran slid off the runway during an emergency landing at Mashhad, Iran’s second city, state media reported. Rescue workers took the injured to hospitals as firefighters extinguished the flames. A photograph of the crash site showed the front end of the plane sheared off by the impact of the crash. Ali Ikhani, the new chief of the Civil Aviation Organization told state television that the plane struck a wall after it skidded off the runway.”The impact of the landing pushed the plane off the runway,” a survivor, who was identified only as Jaffari, told the semi-official Fars news agency. News agencies reported that at least 13 passengers and three crew members were killed, and that 21 people were injured. About 160 passengers and the crew members were aboard, state television reported. Among the dead was Capt. Mehdi Dadpei, the airline’s managing director, Islamic Republic News Agency said. Officials said the jet was a Russian-made Ilyushin 62M. The director of public relations at Mashhad’s airport told state television that the plane had experienced “technical glitches.”
