Ukraine mourns Iran air disaster dead

Investigators in Iran say they have recovered the black box of the Antonov An-140 twin-engine turboprop.

Iranian officials at first said they believed pilot error was to blame for Monday's crash, but later said it was too early to determine what caused the accident.

Rescue teams are reported to have recovered the bodies of at least 44 people, including many aviation experts.

The plane crashed into a mountainside at about 1930 (1600 GMT) on Monday as it was preparing to land in Isfahan, about 400 kilometres (250 miles) south of the capital Tehran.

Casualty figures vary slightly - Ukraine said 48 people had died, while Iranian officials put the death toll at 46.

By coincidence, the plane had been taking Ukrainian and Russian aerospace experts to the first official flight of the Iranian version of the An-140 being manufactured in a joint project in Isfahan.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the victims included six Russian men who were managers and specialists from various companies. All the other victims are believed to be Ukrainian.

"It was an excellent plane and those on board were the best aviation experts that Russia and Ukraine have," said Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.

Wreckage collected

The plane had taken off from Kharkiv, Ukraine, and made a brief stop at Trabzon in Turkey before flying on to Iran.

However, as it was nearing the airstrip at Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industries, near Isfahan, witnesses saw the plane hit a mountain, an Iranian official told Reuters news agency.

IRAN AIR CRASHES

Air traffic controllers said the plane lost contact minutes before it was due to land.

The Ukrainian President, Leonid Kuchma, and Iranian Transport Minister Ahmad Khorram offered condolences to families of the victims.

The Ukrainian parliament began its session on Tuesday with a minute's silence.

The An-140 is a modern twin-turboprop commuter plane which made its maiden flight in 1999 and has rarely been involved in accidents.

Iran is assembling An-140s - renamed the Iran-140 locally - under licence from Ukraine.

"It was the same model plane that we are developing with Ukraine, but I don't think the crash will affect this project," Mr Khorram told Reuters news agency.