Iran denies rejecting permission for emergency landing for crashed Turkish jet
TEHRAN – Dogan News Agency
Iran has denied claims it rejected an emergency landing demand from the pilot of a Turkish jet that crashed in Iran while flying from the United Arab Emirates to Turkey. Eleven women were killed in the crash on March 11.
Previous reports had stated that the pilot requested an emergency landing, which was not granted by Iran’s Civil Aviation Authority.
The Bombardier Challenger 604 was carrying Mina Başaran, the daughter of a Turkish businessman, and seven of her friends.
Başaran, the 28-year-old daughter of Hüseyin Başaran, had spent several days in the UAE with friends celebrating ahead of her wedding next month.
The flight took off on March 11 from Sharjah in the U.A.E.
Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization said the plane crashed at 6:09 p.m. after the pilot requested to descend due to a “technical problem.”
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency has reported that the Iranian authorities have recovered the “black box” from the jet.
A graduate of Istanbul’s Koç University, Başaran had been on the board of her father’s company, Başaran Holding, since 2013 and was reportedly being groomed as his successor.
The hen party was also intended for three other women on board who were due to marry this summer. Several of the victims, such as Mina, had enjoyed successful careers in the fashion industry.
Turkish media reported that at least one was pregnant. Photographs reprinted from social media showed the women lounging at a resort at the UAE and posing with the two pilots inside the plane.
The two female pilots were reportedly Beril Gebeş and Melike Kuvvet, who was one of the first female pilots in the Turkish armed forces but subsequently left to work in civil aviation.
