Accident Tupolev Tu-154M EP-CPG,

ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 321477

Date:	Wednesday 15 July 2009
Time:	11:53
Type:	Tupolev Tu-154M
Owner/operator:	Caspian Airlines
Registration:	EP-CPG
MSN:	87A748
Year of manufacture:	1987
Total airframe hrs:	26593 hours
Cycles:	16248 flights
Engine model:	Soloviev D-30KU-154-II
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 168 / Occupants: 168
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed, written off
Category:	Accident
Location:	12 km S of Qazvin - Iran
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Passenger - Scheduled
Departure airport:	Tehran-Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA/OIIE)
Destination airport:	Yerevan Airport (EVN/UDYZ)
Investigating agency:	AAID Iran
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
A Caspian Airlines Tupolev Tu-154M passenger plane was destroyed when it struck terrain near Qazvin, Iran, 16 minutes after takeoff. The airplane departed Tehran-Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA), Iran to Yerevan Airport (EVN), Armenia.
After takeoff the flight was cleared to climb to 32000 feet. While climbing through at 28800 feet, the plane suddenly turned 270 degrees and entered a rapid descent to 14700 feet in just 55 seconds (which would be an average of 256 feet/sec). Air traffic controllers attempted to contact the flight, but there was no response. They asked two Iran Air an Aseman Airlines flights that were in the area to contact Flight 7908, but these attempts failed too.
The airplane exploded on impact and disintegrated, creating a 10 m deep crater with small pieces of debris scattered around the impact area.

A fatigue failure of a disk of the first stage of the low-pressure compressor (LPC) of engine no.1. The uncontained failure of this part in the tail of the aircraft resulted in a loss of control.

Accident investigation: