A Sepehran Airlines Boeing 737-500 left the runway after landing at Mashhad (MHD) on Tuesday, August 25, prompting an evacuation but causing no reported injuries.
Flight 4310 had arrived from Tehran Mehrabad (THR) with 127 passengers. Mahmoud Amani-Bani, director general of airports in Iran’s Razavi Khorasan province, said everyone aboard was in good health following the excursion.
The airport’s public relations office separately said the passengers and crew left the aircraft safely and that airport emergency measures were implemented. Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization is examining the occurrence, including the aircraft’s condition and the reason it departed the paved surface.
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Flight data identifies EP-FSF
ADS-B records collected by Iranian flight-tracking service Asemanjoo identify EP-FSF as the aircraft operating IS4310 from THR on August 25. The record shows the Boeing departing the Tehran area during the evening, although receiver coverage did not capture the full flight to Mashhad.
EP-FSF is a Boeing 737-529, the customer-code designation for a 737-500 originally built for Sabena. Airframe records identify it as manufacturer serial number 26537, a 1992-built aircraft that later operated in Ukraine and Indonesia before joining Sepehran.
The 737-500 is the shortest member of the Boeing 737 Classic family. Its capacity and field performance made it a practical aircraft for relatively thin short- and medium-haul sectors, while its range substantially exceeds the requirement for the roughly 400-nautical-mile link between Tehran and Mashhad.
Sepehran uses conventional six-abreast seating across its 737 fleet, according to the airline’s seat-selection information. The carrier describes itself as operating more 737s than any other Iranian airline, with the type forming the core of its domestic and regional operation.
Mashhad operations continue
The excursion occurred at one of Iran’s busiest domestic destinations. Mashhad handles a substantial mix of scheduled traffic from Tehran and other Iranian cities, alongside international services serving religious and visiting-friends-and-relatives demand.
The airport’s official flight board showed scheduled arrivals and departures operating on Thursday, August 27. Airport authorities had not announced the findings of the technical examination by Thursday.
The investigation will need to establish the aircraft’s configuration on touchdown, its path after leaving the runway and whether a technical, operational or environmental factor contributed. No cause has yet been assigned.
Bottom Line
The absence of injuries shifts the immediate focus to the condition of EP-FSF and the sequence that led to the runway excursion. The Civil Aviation Organization’s findings will determine whether the aircraft can return to service and whether further action is required.
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