Iranian Plane Crash Kills 168 People

Witnesses on the ground reported seeing the Caspian Airlines jet circling with its tail on fire before plunging nose-first into a field. The jet left a large crater upon impact and both the plane and all of its passengers were practically obliterated. Investigators quickly revealed that there were no survivors from the crash and the work is already underway to remove bodies and pieces of the plane from the ground.

Crews will search for the black boxes, which may help to shed some light on the causes of the crash. The crash was the worst in Iran in nearly six years, although it is one of a disturbing trend of air disasters that Iran faces with troubling regularity.

One of the primary reasons for the problems with Iranian airlines is that Iran does not have access to any parts or equipment made in the United States. As the world's leading exporter of aviation technology, the U.S. services the majority of the world's planes and leads the way in technological innovations.

Because of sanctions imposed on Iran since 1979, the country is forced to purchase its planes from Russia and from other providers throughout Europe who are willing to work with them. As a result, their fleet of planes is old and generally not maintained to the standards required in other developed nations around the world.