Iranian passenger plane skids off runway on landing

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s official IRNA news agency is reporting that an Iranian passenger plane has skidded off the runway after its landing gear jammed during a domestic flight.

The Friday report said all 104 passengers and crew of the Fokker-100 plane were safely taken to the airport terminal in the northeastern city of Mashhad, some 900 kilometres (560 miles) east of the capital Tehran.

Under decades of international sanctions, Iran’s commercial passenger aircraft fleet has aged, with air accidents occurring regularly in recent years, resulting in hundreds of casualties. Iran purchased its Fokker-100 planes in the early 1990s.

Following the 2015 landmark nuclear deal with world powers, Iran signed deals with both Airbus and Boeing to buy scores of passenger planes.