Black boxes recovered from crashed Iranian plane

By Raheb Homavandi

JANNAT ABAD, Iran (Reuters) - Two badly damaged black box recorders have been recovered from a Tupolev aircraft that crashed in Iran on Wednesday, killing all 168 people on board, official media reported on Thursday.

The cause of the worst air disaster in the Islamic Republic for six years was still unknown, state television said.

Deputy Transport Minister Ahmad Majidi said it was "likely due to technical problems" as the pilot was experienced, the semi-official Mehr News Agency reported.

The Russian-built Caspian Airlines aircraft was on its way to neighboring Armenia's capital Yerevan when it came down after catching fire in mid-air and plowing into farmland 16 minutes after departing Tehran.

Arlen Davudyan, who represents Caspian Airlines in Yerevan, said the plane had a full technical check in Russia about a month ago and permission for flying was extended until 2010.

The aircraft exploded on impact and left scattered bits of incinerated metal and fragments of the bodies of 153 passengers and 15 crew across a wide area around a deep smoking crater.

Relatives and friends gathered at the site and threw flowers in the crater where the victims perished.