• Helicopter came down in Dorcheh city of Isfahan province.
• Sanctions-hit Iran suffered many air disasters in recent years.
• Pilot killed when F-4 jet crashed in Hamadan province last week.

An Iranian Army helicopter crashed into a fruit market in the central province of Isfahan on Tuesday, killing the pilot, co-pilot, and two merchants, state media reported.

The helicopter came down in the city of Dorcheh, causing a fire that was put out by emergency services, the reports added.

The pilot, co-pilot, and two fruit vendors on the ground were killed, the official IRNA news agency said, attributing the crash to “a technical malfunction”.

Sanctions-hit Iran has suffered several air disasters in recent years, with officials complaining of difficulties acquiring spare parts to keep its ageing fleets in the air.

Experts say Iran has a poor air safety record, with repeated crashes, many involving aircraft bought before the 1979 Islamic Revolution and lacking original spare parts for maintenance.

Last week, a US-built F-4 fighter belonging to Iran’s regular air force crashed in the western province of Hamadan, killing one pilot during a training flight.

NEW DELHI: Technical incidents such as engine oil and fuel leaks affecting Air India flights reached the highest rate in at least 14 months in January, a company document shows, underscoring growing strain on the carrier’s revamp ambitions.

India’s second-largest airline has come under scrutiny from the country’s safety regulator since a crash last year killed 260 people. It has since reported many safety lapses and, in December, admitted there was a “need for urgent improvements in process discipline, communication, and compliance culture”.

In January, Air India recorded 1.09 technical incidents per 1,000 flights, quadrupling from levels of just 0.26 in December 2024, according to a document reviewed by Reuters that the carrier submitted to the Indian government in February. It did not provide earlier data.

Air India operated more than 17,500 flights in January and recorded 23 technical incidents on its international and domestic flights, according to the document, which is not public. At least 21 of those incidents were investigated formally by the airline.

“Systemic improvements (are) being introduced across flight ops, training, engineering quality, and procedural oversight to prevent recurrence,” the Air India document said.

Air India and India’s civil aviation ministry did not respond to Reuters‘ queries.

The document provided only selective comparisons to global airline industry norms based on data that is not publicly available and did not contain information on the airline’s budget subsidiary Air India Express.

Air India, which is owned by Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, has been struggling to rebuild its reputation and international network, and replace its ageing fleet that has been hobbled by supply chain delays.

Pakistan’s airspace closure for Indian carriers due to diplomatic tensions has also hit it financially and forced it to shut some long-haul routes.

India’s civil aviation ministry told lawmakers this month that 82.5% of the 166 Air India aircraft it analysed since January 2025 had recurring technical defects, compared with 36.5% for market leader IndiGo. The ministry gave no further details.

The Air India document said the technical incidents reported last month included engine stall warnings, issues related to flight control and hydraulics, and engine oil and fuel leaks.

There were incidents on both its Airbus and Boeing aircraft, including five instances of fuel or engine oil leaks in the month. A Dubai-Mumbai flight on arrival found that an engine’s oil quantity was “low”.

In another incident, a Delhi-Dubai flight on January 12 was forced to turn back after takeoff due to the absence of water in the lavatory and galley, the document said.

Operational incidents, including rejected takeoffs, flying at a restricted altitude and taking off with incorrect settings, stood at 0.29 per 1,000 flights in January, more than double the level in December 2024, the document stated.

But there has been a “decrease in operational incidents” in recent months, it added.

Detailed steps to address issues

Air India has a fleet of 191 planes, but has placed orders for over 500 more aircraft.

But revamping an airline owned by the Indian government until 2022 has been a major challenge, and Air India CEO Campbell Wilson has repeatedly complained that supply chain disruptions have delayed cabin retrofits.

The Air India February document detailed steps it is taking to “drive down” the various technical issues.

To control leakage events, it has introduced a periodic inspection program for its fleet of Airbus A320s, and replaced all steering-system hydraulic hoses on all its Boeing 777s.

A periodic air-conditioning leak-check programme has also been put in place, and Air India is implementing “targeted engineering actions” to “strengthen aircraft reliability and reduce incident rates”, the document said.

Air India’s issues have also attracted international regulatory scrutiny. Britain’s aviation authority asked Air India to explain why a Boeing Dreamliner jet that was grounded on arrival in India for safety checks took off from London with a possibly faulty fuel switch, Reuters reported this month.

Air India replied that it had reminded pilots that they needed to operate in accordance with proper procedures and it had protectively replaced the throttle control module on the plane, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

German Ambassador to Pakistan Ina Lepel has said that Ukrainians are defending the freedom not only of Germany but also of the entire of Europe.

In her message on the fourth anniversary of the Russian invasion, the ambassador said that four years ago, on February 24, 2022, Russia launched an unprovoked and full-scale invasion against Ukraine, which was a blatant violation of international law.

“Even four years later, Ukraine’s military and people are continuing their resistance against the invaders,” she said.

“Ukraine’s brave soldiers and citizens are defending their freedom and sovereignty against a ruthless enemy that wishes to revive the colonial system of the past.”

In this way, she said, they are also defending the freedom of Germany and Europe as a whole. Because we do not know who the next victim of the Russian President’s aggression will be.

“This is the reason why supporting the freedom-loving and brave people of Ukraine in their war of resistance against the colonial system is in our fundamental interest.”

Ukraine, on February 24 (today), marked the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion, with a show of solidarity from its staunchest allies and no immediate end in sight to Europe´s bloodiest conflict since World War II.

Tens of thousands of lives have been lost since the Kremlin ordered troops into Ukraine on February 24, 2022, confident of a quick victory but not expecting the fierce resistance that followed.