Over the last several years boarding a domestic flight in Iran has become like playing Russian roulette. Since 2002 there have been nine fatal air crashes, with as many 302 killed in a single flight, and a combined death toll of nearly 700. Some of these flights were military transports, while some were commercial flights with soldiers or Revolutionary Guardsmen on board, and others purely commercial. Each of these flights was in Iranian air space, by no means hostile territory. So who or what is to blame for these tragic endings to seemingly regular flights? “The maintenance of the aircraft themselves is a key component,” suggests Philip Butterworth-Hayes, consultant editor at Jane’s Airport Review. “The operation of the aircraft within the air traffic control system is the other thing.” The maintenance of the aircraft could certainly be an issue. “The fact is Iran is a country which has been subjected to sanctions for the better part of 30 years. If you don’t have free access to regular trading with the most experienced parts of the world in civil aviation safety, it stands to reason that you won’t have the best equipment available to you,” says David Kaminski-Morrow, deputy news editor of Flight International Magazine. Read more from Ben Leffell… [1]