A Boeing 707 cargo plane flying to Iran from Kyrgyzstan crashed Monday, killing all but one of the 16 crew members. The engineer is the only survivor of the crash and is currently being treated in hospital.
The plane crashed outside of the non-commercial Fath airport about 25 miles west Tehran, the Iranian capital. It hit a walled barrier, crashed into some residential buildings and then exploded.
Local reports say that the pilot was attempting to land at the non-commercial airport just 2.5 miles away from the crash site.
Bad weather may have been a factor in the pilot's attempt to land at the wrong airport.
Iran’s aviation organisation spokesman Reza Jafarzadeh told the state broadcaster, “The plane was a cargo Boeing 707 that overshot the runway during its landing."
The Iranian army reported that the cargo plane was carrying meat from Kyrgyzstan.
"A Boeing cargo 707 plane carrying meat from Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan had an emergency landing at Fath Airport today ... the flight engineer has been dispatched to the hospital. It exited the runway during the landing and caught fire after hitting the wall at the end of the runway."
Plums of smoke could be seen from the site.
It is not clear if the plane was a civilian or military.