Pilot Error Led to Aseman Plane Crash in Feb.

Errors by the pilot and airline are to blame for a plane crash in a mountainous region of central Iran that killed 66 people in February, a lawmaker said on Sunday.

“According to data retrieved from the flight recorder, pilot error caused the crash. Aseman Airlines is also at fault as it should not have permitted the plane to fly in bad weather conditions.” Reza Kuchi, chairman of the Majlis Civil Commission charged with investigating the incident, told YJC.

“There was no technical factor involved, and if regulations been upheld this disaster could have been averted,” he said. The plane was a twin-engine turboprop ATR-72 plane.

Aseman Airlines Flight 3705, en route from Tehran to the southern city of Yasuj hit the side of a mountain while flying at the altitude of 3600 meters. At the time of the incident on February 18, the region was experiencing severe cold and snowy weather.

“In the moments before the crash, the co-pilot asks the pilot to change course to Shiraz, (150 km away from Yasuj), but unfortunately the pilot keeps flying albeit at a lower altitude, a decision that ultimately caused the crash,”  Kuchi  said.