Sepehran 737 veers off runway in Iran
A Sepehran Airlines Boeing 737-500 veered off a runway at Mashhad International Airport on 25 August 2026, disabling the aircraft but leaving 127 passengers and crew uninjured.
Runway Excursion at Mashhad
A Sepehran Airlines Boeing 737-500 veered off a runway at Mashhad International Airport on 25 August 2026, disabling the aircraft but leaving 127 passengers and crew uninjured.
Aircraft and Flight Details
Flight IS4310, arriving from Tehran Mehrabad, performed a normal landing before the aircraft left the paved surface, according to Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization. The aircraft, registered EP-FSF, turned left, entered an unpaved area while still traveling at high speed, and eventually came to a stop, the official account from ISNA reports. Passengers and crew were evacuated safely.
Images show the 737 resting nose-down with its nose landing gear no longer supporting the aircraft.
The aircraft, a Boeing 737-500 built in May 1992, was originally operated by Sabena as OO-SYJ before moving through several carriers, including AeroSvit, Ukraine International Airlines, Riau Airlines, Kalstar Aviation, and joining Sepehran in 2016. Sepehran operates a fleet largely of Boeing 737-300s and 737-500s on domestic and regional routes.
Investigation and Conditions
An investigation team was dispatched to Mashhad to determine why the aircraft departed the runway. Runway 13R and Taxiway Q at Mashhad International Airport were temporarily closed because of the disabled aircraft. Weather observations at the time of the accident reported good visibility, no significant clouds and light winds.
The aircraft’s nose landing gear collapsed after the excursion, leaving the 737 grounded.
Sanctions Context
The accident occurred one day after the United States announced new sanctions on Iran’s aviation industry as part of Operation Economic Outcast. The Treasury Department issued the measure on 24 August under Executive Order 13902, giving the Office of Foreign Assets Control authority to sanction any foreign person or company that operates in Iran’s aviation sector or provides services supporting it. The sanctions expand Washington’s ability to target individual airlines and the foreign companies that help them operate, potentially exposing aircraft brokers, parts suppliers, maintenance providers, insurers, banks and sales agents outside Iran to secondary sanctions, including exclusion from the US financial system.
Sepehran was not named among the entities sanctioned in the August 24 announcement. US restrictions already prohibit most unauthorized exports and re-exports of American aircraft and components to Iran. Applications involving civil aviation safety and the safe operation of US-built aircraft can be considered individually, but approvals are granted on a case-by-case basis.
Source: AeroTime