U.S. Airliner Makes Emergency Landing in Iran

TEHRAN (Reuters) - A U.S. airliner flying from Bombay to Amsterdam made an emergency landing in Tehran on Sunday, but no one was hurt, a civil aviation official said. The United States and Iran have been on hostile terms since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

The Northwest Airlines flight landed at 4 a.m. (2330 GMT, Saturday) at Tehran's Mehrabad airport after encountering a technical problem with its cargo section, Mohammad Jafarzadeh, spokesman for Iran's Civil Aviation Organization, said.

"All 255 passengers and crew are safe and sound and were taken to the airport transit lounge," he said.

Source: Reuters

Wow, this must be the first U.S. passenger plane to land in Iran in years...looks like everything is OK though and they'll be able to continue on once the technical problems are fixed.

I’m actually impressed the had to integrity and patience to allow it to land. Thank god another tragedy like the on that befell the Korean airline as avoided, no trigger happy commies in Iran.

Alot of people in Iran want better relations with the US and just about as many want the mullahs out outright. The people of Iran have realized that getting rid of the US hasn't solved all of their problems I guess we are a slightly smaller Satan.

It is good to hear this kind of news about Iran allowing the plane to land. It shows that they are capable of human compassion. Though there may have been a tense feeling in the air, the passengers and crew were still shown basic human dignity and a place to get a shot

[edit on 6/19/05 by Kidfinger]

Originally posted by Kidfinger
a place to get a shot

I doubt they got any chance to drink in Iran, alcohol is quite illegal there as an Islamic fundamentalist country, no?

Originally posted by djohnsto77


I doubt they got any chance to drink in Iran, alcohol is quite illegal there as an Islamic fundamentalist country, no?

Yeah, that was sarcasm about being in an airport bar in Iran. My humor just doesnt come through on a screen

Perhaps Iran should have done what the US did in 1988 and shot down the airline killing all the passengers. Its good to see Iran has compassion towards the US, hopfully US would return some of the compassion in kind.

Originally posted by Sep
Perhaps Iran should have done what the US did in 1988 and shot down the airline killing all the passengers.

That would have been just what the Neocons wanted.
It would have brought International support against Iran so I'm glad the Iranians were smart enough to not do that.

I am wondering though, why did the US plane decide to land in Tehran?
It seems like an odd place for them, being American, to choose.

I'm not sure what route they usually fly but there are a number of countries close by like the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Turkmenistan, Armenia, etc..

Is it nomal for US planes to fly over Iranian Air space?

the theocracy of iran doesn't need any more international pressure and thus did not take any hostages this time.

I don't think they were flying over Iranian air space, they were en route from Bombay to Amsterdam, so they were probably just 'in the vicinity'.

Now..I saw this story last night, and I immediately thought there was something going on. Maybe a secret passenger? A little smuggled cargo perhaps?

Maybe Iran got a tip that an invasion is around the corner, so they packed up a few important people and shipped them to a hash bar in Amsterdam to wait out the storm.

I don't know, but I do know something struck me as odd about this incident.

If I were the US I woudl be vrey suspicious of this kind act from the Iranian government ... They are not a kind people they have never been and wil never be ... it is the way that it has always been .