Fokker-100 of Iran’s national carrier makes emergency landing, no casualties

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN – A Fokker-100 aircraft operated by Iran Air, the national carrier of the Islamic Republic of Iran, had to make an emergency landing in northwestern Ardabil city on Friday night, state media reported on Saturday.

The aircraft made an emergency landing and all passengers were transferred to Tabriz city by bus, the state-run news agency IRNA reported, citing Director General Ardabil International Airport Mohammad Kasabi.

The incident reportedly occurred on Friday night, when the Tehran-Tabriz Fokker-100 plane was unable to land safely at Tabriz airport owing to "technical problems."

The distance between Ardabil, the capital of Ardabil province, and Tabriz, the seat of East Azerbaijan province, is around 220 kilometers (137 miles).

Kasabi noted that weather conditions in Ardabil remain unfavorable, with a visibility radius of 100 meters, increasing the likelihood of flight cancellations at the city airport.

At least four passengers experienced nausea, headaches, and earaches, and required medical treatment, the news agency said, citing the public relations department at Ardabil University of Medical Sciences.

No casualties were reported in the incident.

It came less than a week after Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and six others were killed in a helicopter crash in the mountains of East Azerbaijan province.

The helicopter was en route to Tabriz after Raisi and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev jointly inaugurated a dam project in the border region between the two countries.

While Iranian authorities are investigating the cause of the crash, preliminary reports suggest that inclement weather conditions were the primary cause.