Regarding the C-130 crash in Tehran, according to the blog "Regime Change Iran" at <
http://www.regimechangeiran.com/>:
"Two experienced Iranian military pilots refused to take off in the aging cargo aircraft, which had failed to pass all mechanical and safety checks.
"Eventually, senior military personnel prevailed on a junior airforce pilot to take off with the sixty-five or so journalists and some other passengers, twenty five of whom have still failed to be identified.
"Shortly after take-off, the pilot ran into technical difficulties and sent out a Mayday but was told to stay aloft till permission was obtained for him to land at Mehrabad. Why? Because President Ahmadi-Nejad was departing Mehrabad in the brand new "holy" aircraft purchased by Supreme Leader Khamenei, to go to Saudi Arabia and airspace was closed till his flight left. Emergencies and the potential loss of life apparently carried no weight.
"When the pilot requested permission to take the C-130, which lands easily on desert terrain south of the capital and land in the desert, he was ordered to stay in the vicinity of Mehrabad airport. Sources reveal that the powers that be at Mehrabad did not want a plane full of reporters to land safely in the middle of nowhere and to have to deal with the resultant media outbursts as to the poor quality control and servicing of military aircraft.
"After more than 30-minutes of the crippled aircraft trying to stay up and Ahmadi-Nejad finally leaving the ground, the pilot was given permission to land. In his effort to avoid military housing complexes his course took him too close to a couple of ten story residential buildings and he clipped one with a wing, sending the aircraft plunging and killing those one board as well as people on the ground. . . .
"The Majliss (parliament) is currently meeting to impeach the Iranian Minister of Defense over the C-130 air crash."