The aircraft had been chartered by tour company Tjæreborg to take tourists around Asia, and was on the way back to Copenhagen when the accident happened.

[4] According to Danish newspaper Politiken, the nationalities of the passengers and crew were the following:[5][6] The Sud Aviation Caravelle had been chartered by travel agency Tjæreborg to take tourists on a tour around Asia.

The tour had started in Copenhagen on 2 March 1974 and had taken the tourists to several cities, among them Shiraz, Bangkok, Hong Kong and New Delhi.

[5] The tour, on its 14th day, was making a quick refuelling stop at Tehran, before flying back to Copenhagen.

On the 30 March 1974 the AIB team released a statement stating that the probable cause of the accident was failure of the right main landing gear.