Pilot Detained Over Mashhad Flight Delay

A Mahan Air pilot, who detained his passengers for seven hours in a plane at Mashhad’s Shahid Hasheminejad Airport, has been arrested. Extensive travel delays and cancellations on February 18 were largely blamed on frost and prolonged de-icing process of aircraft, an official familiar with the matter told ILNA. It is essential that all ice, frost and snow are removed from the wings before flight. Many accidents, involving large and small aircraft, have occurred as a result of ice, frost and or snow accumulation. However, the whole cleaning process should be handled before the flight. Earlier, Mohammad Baqer Qasemzadeh, director general of Khorasan Razavi Airports Company, was also summoned by a court to answer questions about the flight chaos at Shahid Hasheminejad Airport, also known as Mashhad International Airport.