TABRIZ-(MaraviPost)-At least three people, including two crew and a passerby, have died after a fighter jet crashed into a school compound in the area of the northwestern city of Tabriz.
The Shahid Fakouri air base commander, General Reza Youssefi confirmed the tragedy in a statement on Monday, February 21.
General Youssefi said the US-made F-5 aircraft was heading back from the training mission when it encountered a technical problem that prevented it from landing.
The school was closed due to coronavirus pandemic when the warplane crashed into an external wall, and one of the dead was a nearby resident, AFP reported.
This is the first military plane to crash in Iran since December 2019 when a MiG-29 warplane went down near a dormant volcano during a test flight killing the pilot on board.
In January 2019, a military cargo plane overshot a runway, crashed and caught fire during a botched landing near the capital Tehran. Killing 15 people.
In February 2018, a domestic flight operated by Iran Aseman Airlines crashed near the city of Semirom killing all 60 passengers and 6 crew members on board.
Meanwhile, investigations into the recent crash have been launched.
