The head of the Iranian Civil Aviation Authority has announced that all Iranian carriers have been notified that a ban on all Russian made Tupolev aircraft will begin on February 20. The Authority ordered 4 Iranian Airlines to stop flying Tupolev TU154s due to past crashes and the expiration of airworthiness documents."Using Tupolev TU154 planes is forbidden because of the recent air incidents and the expiry of the service date of this type of aircraft on February 19," the Authority said in a letter. Altogether, 17 Tupolev TU154s, owned by IRAN AIR TOURS, KISH AIR, ERAM and TABAN AIRLINES,are currently in service in Iran. Iranian carriers have recorded multiple accidents in recent years, prompting calls for a revamp of the country's ageing air fleet which also includes many US-built Boeings acquired before the 1979 Islamic revolution. US sanctions bar the sale of Boeing airliners to Iran and hinder the acquisition of other aircraft, many of which rely on US-built engines or other components. However, in August, Iranian government officials said they had plans to import 13 Boeing MD-series and 6 Airbus aircraft. The government did not say where the jets were coming from. Iran also recently announced that they would soon begin production of their own aircraft, which is known as the IRAN-140. The last major fatal air accident in Iran involving a Tupolev was in July 2009 when a CASPIAN AIRLINES Tupolev TU154M, bound for Armenia, caught fire in mid-air and crashed into farmland near the city of Qazvin, Iran. All 168 passengers and crew onboard Caspian Flight 7908, were killed in the crash. On January 24, 2010, a Taban Airlines Tupolev TU154M, pictured top, caught fire while performing an emergency landing in the Iranian city of Mashhad. None of the 170 passengers and crew onboard the were killed, however 46 people were injured. The Tupolev was destroyed.
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