Interfax, Russia
July 17 2009

Tu-154 plane might have crashed due to crew error – Armenian Union of Aviators

YEREVAN July 17

The Tupolev Tu-154 might have crashed in Iran because of crew error,
chairman of the Armenian Union of Aviators Dmitry Adbashian told a
press conference on Friday.

The information made available to him suggests the crash might have
been caused by the fire in one the plane’s engines, as result of which
the plane got out of control, he said.

Tu-154 planes are very reliable and conform with international flight
safety standards, the specialist said. "It could have made an
emergency landing even with one operating engine, and the plane has
three," Adbashian said.

"Most likely, the crew got confused. It is not ruled out that the fire
was so big that it could not be extinguished," he said.

There are many reasons why the engine caught fire, for instance, it
could be the presence of sand particles from sandstorms, which have
become more frequent in Iran, or some other object in the engine, he
said.

On July 15 a Caspian Airlines Tu-154 plane from Tehran bound for
Yerevan crashed in Iran, killing all 153 passengers and 15 crewmembers
on board.