86 Feared Dead in Military Plane Crash

Heavy snow hindered the search for a military cargo plane that crashed in mountainous northeastern Iran near Mashhad, 435 miles northeast of Tehran. All 86 people aboard, soldiers and their families, were feared dead. Rescuers braved freezing temperatures and snow to search nearby mountains for the wreckage but found no trace of the plane. The crew of the C-130 broke off contact Thursday evening after reporting technical difficulties. Iran’s air force is a mix of Russian, U.S. and Chinese aircraft. Under a U.S. embargo that dates back to Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution, the Iranians cannot buy U.S. aircraft or spare parts, and less than half its U.S. aircraft are believed fit to fly.