Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 6895

Infobox Aircraft accident
name = Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 6895


caption =
date = August 24, 2008
type = Under investigation
site = Manas International Airport, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
coords = coord|43|3|28|N|74|28|43|E|type:airport_region:KG|display=inline|name=Manas International Airport (not crash site)
aircraft_type = Boeing 737-219 Advanced
aircraft_name =
operator = Itek Air
tail_number = airreg|EX|009|disaster
origin = Manas International Airport, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
stopover =
stopover0 =
stopover1 =
stopover2 =
stopover3 =
last_stopover =
destination = Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport, Tehran, Iran
passengers = 83
crew = 7
injuries = 18
fatalities = 68
survivors = 22

Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 6895, an Itek Air Boeing 737-219 Advanced (registered as EX-009), was a charter flight operated on behalf of Iran Aseman Airlines which crashed on 24 August 2008 (at 20:30 local time) near Manas International Airport in Kyrgyzstan while en route to Imam Khomeini International Airport,cite web | url=http://www4.irna.ir/View/FullStory/?NewsId=140051 | title=تعداد مسافران ايراني هواپيماي سانحه ديده قرقيزي 52 نفر اعلام شد | date=2008-08-25 | publisher=IRNA | accessdate=2008-08-26 | language=Persian] [cite web | url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/story/2008/08/080825_wkf-an-plane-crash.shtml | title=شهروندان ایران در سانحه هوایی قرقیزستان | date=2008-08-25 | publisher=BBC Persian | accessdate=2008-08-27 | language=Persian] [cite web | url=http://www.asemansafety.ir/toppage5.htm | title= اخبار سوانح هوانوردی | publisher=asemansafety.ir | accessdate=2008-08-27 | language=Persian] Tehran, Iran. It crashed while returning to the airport of origin after experiencing technical difficulties.cite web | url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20080824-0 | title=ASN Aseman Airlines Flights 6895 | date=2008-08-24 | accessdate=2008-08-24 ] .

Reports state that members of the crew reported "technical issues" with the plane shortly after take off. Within 10 minutes the crew reported a severe loss of cabin pressure. When they attempted to make an emergency landing, the aircraft crashed approximately convert|2|km|mi from the airport runway and burst into flames.cite web | url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20080824-0 | title=ASN Aseman Airlines Flights 6875 | date=2008-08-24 | accessdate=2008-08-24 ] The United States Air Force sent ambulances and fire apparatus with firefighters and medical personnel from its base at the airport in response to a request for assistance.cite news |last=Namatbayeva| first=Tolkun |url=http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24236087-663,00.html |title=At least 68 dead in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan 737 air crash |date=2008-08-25 |accessdate=2008-08-31 |publisher=Agencee France-Presse via Herald Sun] The victims included ten members of a Bishkek high school sports team.

Casualties

There were 90 people on board (83 passengers and 7 crew) of whom 68 died. At least 22 are reported to have survived, including 2 crew members.cite news |last=Saralayeva| first=Leila |url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i8ZYB2OBDNkh6H6fm6hogTD4HrfAD92P3V2O1 |title=68 die, 22 survive airliner crash in Kyrgyzstan |date=2008-08-25 |accessdate=2008-08-25 |publisher=AP via Google News] The victims included ten members of a Bishkek high school sports team.

Investigation

Investigation of this incident is ongoing as of August 31, 2008.

The Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK) is attempting to retrieve data from the flight-data and cockpit voice-recorders, which were badly damaged in the fire which destroyed most of the aircraft. While disassembling the casing, both the mechanisms of the tape recorder and the tape media in the voice recorder were found in damaged condition, but the MAK is attempting to read the data from the damaged media. The MAK have not drawn any conclusions yet. [cite web |last= Kaminski-Morrow |first=David |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2008/08/28/315311/pictures-crashed-itek-737s-recorders-badly-damaged-by-fire.html |title=Pictures: Crashed Itek 737's recorders badly damaged by fire |date=2008-08-28 |accessdate=2008-08-31 |publisher= Flight International |language=English]

Aircraft

The crashed plane first flew on June 16, 1980 and was delivered on July 1 of the same year to Air New Zealand. In 1995, it changed hands to Copa Airlines, and in 2003 again changed hands to Phoenix Aviation. In 2005, Phoenix Aviation was rebranded as AVE.com, and in April of 2006, it changed hands to Itek Air. [cite web |url=http://www.planespotters.net/Production_List/Boeing/737/22088.html |title=EX-009 Itek Air Boeing 737-219(A) - cn 22088 / ln 676 - Planespotters.net |accessdate=2008-08-25 |publisher= Planespotters.net |language=English]

Itek Air, along with all air carriers certified by the authorities with responsibility for regulatory oversight of Kyrgyzstan, is included in a European Union list of banned airlines for safety concerns and is therefore not permitted to fly over the territory of the EU. In May 2008, EX-009 passed a full technical inspection. [cite web |url=http://pda.lenta.ru/news/2008/08/24/foreigners/ |title=На борту упавшего в Киргизии "Боинга" находился 51 иностранец |date=2008-08-24 |accessdate=2008-08-25 |publisher= Lenta.Ru |language=Russian]

References