Fath Air Base | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Operator | Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force | ||||||||||
| Serves | Karaj | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 3,999 ft / 1,219 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 35°43′02″N50°56′07″E / 35.71722°N 50.93528°E /35.71722; 50.93528 | ||||||||||
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| Runways | |||||||||||
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Fath Air Base (ICAO:OIIF) is a military airfield nearKaraj,Alborz Province, Iran.
Fath Air Base is located nearKaraj,Alborz Province, Iran. The airport is at an elevation of 3,999 feet (1,219 m) and has an asphalt runway, 3,218 feet (981 m) long, designated 13/31,.[1][2][3] It is mainly used as a base for helicopters of the Helicopter Training Squadron, Attack Helicopter Squadron and Training & Recce Helicopter Squadron of theIranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force.[4]
On 14 January 2019, aBoeing 707 ofSaha Airlinesoverran the runway on landing, killing fifteen of the sixteen people on board.[5] It was reported that the aircraft should have landed atPayam International Airport but landed at Fath in error.[6] Payam is located 10.9 kilometres (5.9 nmi) northwest of Fath Air Base.
A crash was avoided in a similar incident on 16 November 2018, when aTaban AirlinesMD-88 carrying 155 people twice attempted to land on this runway, mistaking it for a longer 3,659-metre (12,005 ft) runway atPayam International Airport, which is nearly inline but 11 km away. The first approach was aborted at 11:26 hours and the aircraft circled for another attempt. The second approach was aborted at 11:29 and the aircraft continued for a safe landing at Payam Airport at 11:31. AAID Iran reported that the flight reached an altitude of 1 m above ground level during one of the approaches.[7] The MD-88 requires a minimum of approximately 1,500 m of runway to land safely, 519 m more than the 981 m runway at Fath Air Base.[8]