The aircraft

The aircraft involved was a Fokker 50, registered EP-LCA. It first flew on 25 January 1993 with Lufthansa CityLine as D-AFFJ, then to Air Nostrum for Iberia as EC-GKU prior to being delivered to Kish Air on 1 March 2002.

The flight

Flight 7170 departed Kish Airport, Kish Island with 40 passengers and a crew of six on board, on a flight to Sharjah International Airport, Sharjah. Whilst on final approach to runway 12 at the airport, the pilots lost control of the aircraft causing it to crash into an open space within a residential area about 2.6 nautical miles (4.8 km) from the end of the runway. Of the 46 on board, three passengers survived the crash; as of 2013 this is the worst crash involving a Fokker 50.

Investigation

Two pilots of another aircraft waiting at the hold point for runway 12 witnessed the crash. The pilots had been told to taxi and hold for Flight 7170 and for that reason were watching the flight land. They told investigators that the aircraft was flying normally when the nose suddenly pitched down to a 60-degree angle and spiraled left. The investigators also learnt from the witnesses that nothing had come off the aircraft beforehand, ruling out structural failure.

The accident was investigated by the General Civil Aviation Authority. The investigation into the crash revealed that the pilots had accidentally selected the propellers to reverse thrust while still in the air. This caused the loss of control and the subsequent crash.