They will be running out of planes and Military Brass at this rate!
Plane crash kills Iran commander
By Nasser Karimi, AP
Published: 09 January 2006
A small military passenger jet crashed in northwestern Iran today, killing the commander of the ground forces of the elite Revolutionary Guards and at least 12 other people, official media reported.
It was the second time in two months that a military plane has crashed in Iran. On both occasions, the planes were carrying passengers and attempting to make an emergency landing.
In Monday's crash, the plane, a Falcon of the Revolutionary Guards, was trying to make an emergency landing at Oroumieh, 560 miles north-west of the capital, Tehran, state television reported.
There were conflicting reports on what caused the crash. The official Islamic Republic News Agency reported the plane crashed because its landing gear jammed, preventing the wheels from being fully deployed. But the Revolutionary Guards' spokesman, Gen. Masoud Jazayeri, blamed bad weather and engine failure.
"It crashed near the airport due to the bad weather, lack of visibility and failure in both engines," Gen. Jazayeri told the television.
Jazayeri said that Gen. Ahmad Kazemi, commander of the ground forces of the Revolutionary Guards, and 10 other officers of the Guards were killed, the news agency reported.
State television said the plane's crew of two were also killed. However, the news agency and state radio said there were three crewmen. The discrepancy could not be immediately explained.
The Falcon, which is made by the French company Dassault, is the preferred aircraft of high-ranking military officers in Iran.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article337518.ece