April 15, 2008	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 8, 1429

TEHRAN: An Iranian military jet on Monday crashed and burst into flames at Mehrabad airport in central Tehran, the city’s main domestic air hub, but the crew ejected unscathed, emergency services said.

The Russian-made Sukhoi jet crashed on landing at the airport in southwestern Tehran while on a training mission. The fire brigade rushed to the scene after being alerted by the public.

The accident was the latest crash to hit the Iranian air force, which has to operate an ageing fleet hit by the effects of the blanket US trade embargo imposed after the 1979 Islamic revolution.

“As soon as the plane hit the ground it went off the runway tarmac and caught fire,” Behrouz Tashakor, the spokesman for the Tehran fire brigade, told the official IRNA news agency.—AFP