The aircraft crashed in mountainous terrain while flying in poor weather conditions about twenty kilometers south of Sari killing all thirty people on board.

[2] On 17 May 2001, a Russian-built Yakovlev Yak-40, registration EP-TQP, operated by Faraz Qeshm Airlines took off from Tehran-Mehrabad Airport at 06:45 and proceeded northeast to Gorgan Airport with a crew of five and twenty-five passengers which included Iran's Transportation Minister Rahman Dadman, other ministry staff, including Arsalan Raahemi and six members of parliament.

[3] While flying in deteriorating weather conditions, which included heavy rains, the aircraft was struck by lightning possibly affecting its navigational equipment.

About ten minutes before its scheduled arrival, the pilot communicated to air traffic control that they would either have to make an emergency landing or divert to another airport.

[4] At around 07:45 the aircraft crashed in a heavily forested section of the Alborz Mountains, thirteen miles southeast of the city of Sari, between Gorgan and Shahroud.