Iran Air Flight 291
Boeing 727-86 · Inoperable ILS and ground radar leading to controlled flight into terrain
From Mashhad International Airport (MHD) to Mehrabad International Airport (THR)
Event
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- Event fatalities
- 128 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 128
- Survivors
- 0
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- Unknown
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Airline
Boeing 727-86
- Flight
- IR291
- Aircraft type
- Boeing 727
- Category
- Airplane · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- EP-IRD
- Operator
- Iran Air
- Onboard fatalities
- 128
- Route
- From Mashhad International Airport (MHD)To Mehrabad International Airport (THR)
Cause areas
- Environmental issues › Operating environment
From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.
Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.
From the Wikipedia article
Iran Air Flight 291 was a charter flight from Mashad Airport to Tehran-Mehrabad Airport. On 21 January 1980, the Boeing 727-86 during its approach crashed on the Tehran-Mehrabad runway 29 in foggy and snowy weather conditions, killing all 128 people on board. At the time, Iran Air Flight 291 was the deadliest aircraft disaster in Iranian history.
Accident
On the day of the accident, Iranian air traffic controllers went on strike, which led to hundreds of domestic flights being cancelled. Then at 16:00 the strike was interrupted, and flights resumed. At 17:40, Flight 291 departed from Mashad Airport bound for Tehran-Mehrabad Airport in Iran. There were 8 crew members and 120 passengers on board (initial reports stated that there were 8 crew members and 116 passengers).
At 18:52 local time, the controller at Mehrabad airport in Tehran gave the crew a direct approach to runway 29. Then at about 19:05, the dispatcher instructed the crew to take a 360° heading to reach the non-directional beacon of the Varamin approach. Without receiving instructions from the controller, the pilots were 17 mi off course to the north. During the approach, the first officer told the captain that the VORTAC was giving the wrong radial course, but he did not respond to this message. At 19:11 local time, the aircraft collided with the Alborz Mountains, 29 km north of Tehran. All 8 crew members and 120 passengers died in the crash.
Investigation and cause
Cause
Investigators concluded that the probable cause of the crash was believed to be an inoperable instrument landing system and ground radar. The head of Iran's Civil Aviation Authority and five other officials were charged with manslaughter as a result of the crash of Flight 291.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Iran Air Flight 291” (revision 1358194569, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article
Sources
Wikipedia article: Iran Air Flight 291
- Article
- Iran Air Flight 291
- Revision
- 1358194569 · 2026-06-07 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q2254354
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "Iran Air Flight 291" (page 18549302, revision 1358194569)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- Wikipedia article coordinates
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- airline flight number in the infobox
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.