Iranian passenger plane crashes in residential area of Tehran shortly after take-off killing 48

    


The aircraft was an Iran-140 which is normall used for short domestic flights
It crashed near Mehrabad, west of Tehran in Iran
The plane went down in a residential area after its engine failed
Iran has suffered a series of plane crashes blamed on its ageing aircraft
Iran Air fleet bought before the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution

An Iranian passenger plane has crashed shortly after taking off from an airport near the capital Tehran killing 48 people on board.

The aircraft, an Iran-140 used for short domestic flights, crashed near Mehrabad airport, west of Tehran.

The plane went down in a residential area after its engine failed.



  
Iran has suffered a series of plane crashes, blamed on its ageing aircraft and poor maintenance.

Many of the Boeing aircraft in state-run Iran Air's fleet were bought before the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution, which disrupted ties with the U.S. and Europe.

Iranian airlines, including those run by the state, are strapped for cash and maintenance has suffered, experts say.

U.S. sanctions prevent Iran from updating its American aircraft and make it difficult to get European spare parts or planes as well.

The country has come to rely on Russian aircraft, many of them Soviet-era planes that are harder to get parts for since the Soviet Union's fall.

The last major airliner crash in Iran happened in January 2011 when an Iran Air Boeing 727 broke to pieces on impact while attempting an emergency landing in a snowstorm in north-western Iran, killing at least 77 people.

In July 2009, a Russian-made jet crashed in north-west Iran shortly after taking off from the capital, killing all 168 on board.

In February 2003, a Russian-made Ilyushin 76 carrying members of the Revolutionary Guard crashed in the mountains of south-eastern Iran, killing 302 people aboard.