Iran fighter jet crashes, injuring two crew: reports

• An F-14 fighter jet crashed on Saturday while on a mission in central Iran, injuring two crew members.
• It was the second such incident in Isfahan province in less than a month.
• The air force in sanctions-hit Iran has suffered several crashes in recent years.

An F-14 fighter jet crashed on Saturday while on a mission in central Iran, injuring two of its crew members, according to Iranian media.

“The fighter jet developed a technical fault… and the pilot and co-pilot landed using parachutes,” said Rassoul Motamedi, a military spokesman in Isfahan province, where the crash occurred.

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“The pilot and co-pilot were injured… and were immediately taken to hospital for treatment,” he said, adding that the plane was destroyed.

It was the second such incident in Isfahan province in less than a month after two air force crewmen were killed when their F-7 training aircraft went down.

The air force in sanctions-hit Iran has suffered several crashes in recent years, with officials complaining of difficulties in acquiring spare parts to keep its ageing fleet in the air.

In February, an Iranian F-5 jet crashed in a residential area of the northwestern city of Tabriz, killing three people including its two-man crew.

Iran has mostly Russian MiG and Sukhoi fighter jets that date back to the Soviet era, as well as some Chinese aircraft, including the F-7, French Mirage jets, and American F-4 and F-5 fighter planes.

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The Islamic Republic has 80 F-14 Tomcats, which were used by the US Navy from 1972 until 2006 when they were retired.

Tehran has continued to use them because American sanctions imposed following the 1979 Islamic revolution prevent it from purchasing more modern Western jets.