Boyfriend's chilling last photo from plane window before crash killed 66 people
A domestic flight took off from Tehran's Mehrabad Airport, in Iran, at around 8am on February 18, 2018, carrying 60 passengers and six crew members on a two-hour journey to Yasuj.
But soon after it had taken to the skies, weather conditions worsened and the plane disappeared from radar screens, sparking a wide search.
Flight-tracking website, Flightradar24, reported that the Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 3704's last signal was just before 9.30am, when it was at 16,975ft and descending.
The doomed plane then devastatingly crashed into the snow-covered Dena mountain, and killed every single person onboard.
The passenger sent his girlfriend a photo with the message 'May God protect us to arrive safe' before take-off (Natalie Amiri/ARD)One young man on the plane sent a chilling final photo to his girlfriend just before take-off. It showed the plane's wings and propellers from the window seat. According to Natalie Amiri, the Iran correspondent for German broadcaster ARD, the passenger wrote: "May God protect us to arrive safe." Natalie shared the heartbreaking message on Twitter hours after the crash.
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People who lived near the mountain told local media that it appeared the plane's crew were looking for a place to land in a pasture, and they heard a 'tremendous' collision between 9.30am and 9.40am. A drone was sent over the mountain range to look for wreckage, as helicopters carrying recovery teams were unable to land at the remote location due to dense fog and a blizzard.
Iranian media published photos of the pilots, including the experienced captain, and the security guards, as well as a passenger list. Spokesman Mohammed Tabatabai told reporters: "After searches in the area, unfortunately we were informed that the plane crashed. Unfortunately, all our dear ones lost their lives in this incident." The six crew members were two pilots, two flight attendants and two security officers.
Locals near Iran's Dena mountain range heard a 'tremendous' collision as bad weather forced the plane down (Eh kia)Reports said the captain of the doomed plane was involved in an earlier emergency where he managed to land an aircraft at Yasuj airport following an engine failure in 2013. The plane itself was 25 years old and had suffered a number of technical faults during its lifetime. It was forced to make an emergency landing when it suffered a technical fault on February 5.
A man who said he missed the flight told Iran's Tabnak News Agency: "God has been really kind to me but I am so sad from the bottom of my heart for all those dear ones who lost their lives." The horrific crash highlighted the safety hazard that a mountain wave can pose, and the industry's lack of awareness of the issue. It led to changes in the weather training programmes for airliners in Iran.
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