Why Did a Mahan Pilot Dive in Fear of American Fighter Jets?

At 6:13pm Damascus time today, a commercial Airbus A310-304 belonging to Iran’s Mahan Airlines was flying at 34,000 feet above a US Special Forces base in The Al-Tanf area of Syria when it was intercepted by two US Air Force F-15C fighter aircraft.

According to the pilot of Mahan’s plane, the excessive proximity of one of the patrolling American planes forced him to perform “intense maneuvers” to prevent his plane from colliding with it. Several passengers were thrown against the roof of the cabin because they had not fastened their seatbelts, with some suffering injuries including broken arms.

Hours after the incident, US Central Command spokeswoman Capt. Bill Urban said in a statement that US fighter jets had spotted Mahan’s plane at a reasonable range of 1,000 meters, contrary to what Mahan had claimed. It is therefore not clear exactly why the pilot of the Mahan plane dived so sharply.

The answer lies, as IranWire details in this report, in the importance of the Al-Tanf base to the United States, the details of the interception, and the reasons for Mahan pilots' fears around confronting American interceptors.

Protecting Al-Tanf Base: A US Air Force Daily Mission

For more than four years, US Special Forces and paramilitary divisions have been stationed at a base near the Al-Tanf strategic crossing in southeastern Syria. Set up to fight ISIS during “Operation Inherent Resolve", it aims to prevent the infiltration the IRGC’s Qods Force and its proxy militia, and block the establishment of Iran-Syria communications in the area.

The base was established on March 3, 2016 and up until today, the US Air Force and Navy fighters are responsible for providing protection to the forces stationed there. In  several cases in the past, they have confronted Iranian proxy forces. For example, on June 8 and 6, 2015, US Air Force F-15 bombers shot down two Revolutionary Guards Shahed-129 fighter drones flying nearby. 

Since early May this year, the U.S. Air Force has been deploying 12 F-15C Eagle interceptor fighter jets from Kadena Air Base in Japan to Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, both improve Saudi Arabia's air defense capability against the threat of Revolutionary Guards suicide drones and cruise missiles and in aid of missions related to Operation Inherent Resolve.

During the operation F-15C fighters conducted air combat patrol missions over US Special Forces operational areas in eastern and southeastern Syria, including the Al-Tanf area, in the event of enemy airstrikes or drone attacks, by firing air-to-air missiles and fighting in the air.

The Mahan Aircraft’s Plunge

According to flight information recorded by the Flight Radar 24 website, the company's Airbus A310-304, which bears the national registration number EP-MNF, was flying at an altitude of 34,000 feet and at a speed of 450 knots on autopilot when suddenly, after coming across the two US Air Force F-15C fighter jets, the pilot abruptly dived to an altitude of 33,875 feet. After a sudden drop of 125 feet, it soared up again to 34,350 feet in 15 seconds. Due to this plunge and sudden upward shift, a number of passengers suffered serious injuries, including broken legs and head and arm fractures.

After landing at Rafiq Hariri International Airport, the pilot claimed his decision had been made to prevent the plane from colliding with the American planes. But footage taken by screaming passengers shows those planes were very far from the Mahan aircraft.

According to Mahan’s pilot, the American pilots introduced themselves and the type of mission they had in order to prevent a misunderstanding. The US Central Command statement added that the F-15 pilots of the US Air Force had surveyed and identified the aircraft at a distance of 1,000 meters (3,280 feet), and after determining its passenger nature, had left.

According to the statement, this type of communication is completely standard and routine, and in this regard, international law has been strictly observed by F-15 fighter pilots.

What Frightened the Pilot or Pilots of Flight 1152 Mahan?

All F-15C interceptor fighters of the 44th Squadron, which fly over the area on air patrol missions, are equipped with a sniper targeting pod. Because its cameras allow pilots to zoom into multiple images, they leave no reason for these fighter jets to fly close to visually identify the target. Therefore, what caused the Mahan pilot to panic was probably his concern about being forced to fly into a third country for inspection.

Typically, Mahan Airlines flights to Damascus and Beirut carry dozens of military passengers affiliated with the Qods Force, as well as Hezbollah. These people are permitted to carry light weapons in the cargo compartment.

One of Mahan's pilots, Amir Asadollahi, has previously revealed that secret transfers of former Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani took place on Mahan flights and efforts to prevent his arrest took place during a search of a Mahan plane at Baghdad airport. It may well be for this reason that the pilot, in fear of his plane being inspected or searched in a different country such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan or Iraq, took such drastic action, endangering the lives of those on board.