Iranian Phantom Crash Near Bushehr

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This crash is near the major Iranian news event this week, vis. the fueling of the Bushehr reactor. I suspect that they are flying a pretty serious CAP around Bushehr.

"An Iranian F-4 Phantom fighter jet crashed today in Bushehr. The crew of two sustained injuries and were hospitalized. They are reported to be in fair condition. The crash occurred at 10:10 AM local time near Bushehr’s Industrial Complex. Iran’s first nuclear power plant will be fueled up later this week in Bushehr."

Here is another report:

An Iranian F-4 fighter jet has crashed near an island in the southern province of Bushehr, a provincial official says. According to Gholamreza Keshtkar, the fighter jet crashed near Shif island on Tuesday at 10:10 a.m. (0540 GMT). The official said that the pilots have survived the incident as they managed to eject safely. He further pointed out that they have been transferred to the hospital since they sustained slight injuries. Mohammad-Hassan Shanbadi, a provincial official, was quoted by Fars News Agency as saying that the crash was due to “technical faults.” He added that the two pilots were in “good condition.”

Iran says it has approximately 65 F-4 Phantoms in service, out of an original total of about 225 F-4Ds, RF-4Es and F-4Es delivered from the US during the 60s and 70s.

If you want to take a look at the Bushehr reactor (before it is destroyed...), plug in lat/long 28.829658, 50.885625 on Google Earth or maps.google.com.

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