- 3 August 2009
- 2 Comments
- Events in Iran, Sanctions
Three weeks, three accidents for Iran’s aviation industry
3 August 2009 Posted By Patrick Disney
For the third time in three weeks, an Iranian passenger plane experienced an emergency in flight today, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing. Fortunately, no one was injured or killed.
From Press TV:
Soon after taking off from Ahvaz International Airport in southwestern Iran at 09:40 local time (0510 GMT), the Boeing 707 suffered a fault in one its four engines, reported the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA).
This comes following two other recent plane crashes, the first on July 15 which killed 168, and the second on July 25 which killed at least 16.
Unfortunately, these sorts of accidents are not uncommon in Iran. And each time another decades-old plane crashes, it reignites the discussion over what responsibility American sanctions play in the abysmal safety record of Iran’s civilian air industry. For those of us who have followed the sanctions issue for some time, it comes as no surprise that thirty-year-old Boeing 707’s wanting for spare parts have trouble making it to their destination.
2 Responses to “Three weeks, three accidents for Iran’s aviation industry”
NY Times Lede blog has several videos of protesters in Tehran today:
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/03/four-years-ago-in-tehran-a-more-united-regime/
According to the Office of Foreign Assets Control, when it comes to “Iranian Transactions Regulations,” the placed sanctions would permit to provide parts for civilian use only.
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2006/julqtr/pdf/31cfr560.530.pdf
Such is the case with exports related to aircraft safety, or, as the Iranian Transactions Regulations put it:
§ 560.528 Aircraft safety.
Specific licenses may be issued on a case-by-case basis for the exportation and re-exportation of goods, services, and technology to insure the safety of civil aviation and safe operation of U.S.-origin commercial passenger aircraft.