TEHRAN: An F-14 fighter jet crashed Saturday (June 18) during a mission in central Iran, injuring its two crew members, Islamic republic media reported.
“The fighter jet had a technical malfunction… and the pilot and copilot landed with parachutes,” said Rassoul Motamedi, an army spokesman in the Isfahan province where the crash took place.
“The pilot and copilot were injured…and were immediately taken to hospital for treatment,” he told Tasnim news agency, adding that the plane had been destroyed.
It was the second such incident in Isfahan province in less than a month, after two Air Force crew members were killed when their F-7 training plane crashed.
The air force in sanctioned Iran has had several crashes in recent years, with officials complaining about difficulties in obtaining spare parts to keep the aging fleet afloat.
In February, an Iranian F-5 jet crashed into a residential area of the northwestern city of Tabriz, killing three people, including the two-man crew.
Iran has mainly Russian MiG and Sukhoi fighter jets dating back to the Soviet era, as well as some Chinese aircraft, including the F-7, French Mirage fighter jets, and American F-4 and F-5 fighter jets.
The Islamic Republic has 80 F-14 Tomcats, a fighter jet that served with the United States Navy from 1972 to 2006, when it was withdrawn.
Tehran has continued to use them because US sanctions against Iran in the wake of the 1979 Islamic revolution prevent it from buying more modern Western aircraft.
