Ahmadinejad Thanks Plane Crash 'Martyrs'

Yahoo News:

Iran's outspoken President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pledged a "serious investigation" into the crash of a decrepit military plane in central Tehran, but nevertheless thanked the 108 dead for their "martyrdom".

His comments came after his defence minister, Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, was the target of an impeachment motion filed by a group of parliament deputies angered over reports the aged C-130 was ordered to fly despite warnings from its pilot. READ MORE

"The government will hold a serious investigation (...), but what is important is that they have shown the way to martyrdom which we must follow," Ahmadinejad said of Tuesday's crash victims.

The aged C-130 workhorse -- bought from the United States before the 1979 Islamic revolution and starved of crucial spares -- crashed into the foot of a high-rise housing block after suffering engine failure.

Of the 108 people killed, 68 were journalists travelling on the plane to report on military exercises in the south of the country.

Forty-nine deputies in the Iranian Majlis have backed the impeachment motion. The text of their complaint was not published, but authorities have been under fire over indications the plane had been forced to fly.

Parliament speaker Gholam Ali Hadad-Adel said the motion would be first be examined by parliament's legal service, and if deemed presentable would be examined by the assembly on December 18.

According to the official news agency IRNA, the plane did not have a 'black box' flight recorder although all communications between the plane and the control tower at Mehrabad airport were recorded.

It said a 25 member team made up of armed forces personnel was probing the cause of the disaster.