SAC’s Hungarian Arm Flies Humanitarian Relief Flight to Haiti

The Multinational Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) has conducted a humanitarian relief mission to Haiti on 18 January 2010, delivering first-aid kits and supplies to help Haiti, whose capital Port-au-Prince has been devastated in a massive earthquake.

This was the first humanitarian assistance flight by SAC’s operational arm, the Heavy Airlift Wing based in Pápa Air Base in Hungary. The HAW has flown several operational missions, including flights to support Kosovo Forces and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), but the mission to Haiti is an important milestone for the SAC program.

In the words of Colonel Fredrik Hedén (Swedish Air Force) Vice Wing Commander at HAW: “This is an essential and most urgent task to support with humanitarian aid as soon as possible. Through the effort and cooperation among the 12 SAC nations we are able to contribute faster and more effectively than would have been the case if each nation had acted alone.”

“The first mission was requested by Sweden, but there is also aid from Norway, Denmark, Finland and Estonia onboard. The multinational crewmembers were eager to get the mission done and their colleagues in Pápa are working hard to complete the mission”, Colonel Hedén points out.

The multinational consortium was launched only three years ago in order to acquire three C-17 Globemaster III, to meet strategic airlift requirements of participating nations for national missions, including missions in support of NATO, the EU and the United Nations. The first SAC C-17 Globemaster III was delivered to Pápa Air Base in July 2009, and the second C-17 arrived in September. The third SAC aircraft was delivered in October 2009.

The SAC participating nations include 10 NATO nations, Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, Romania and the United States, and two Partnership for Peace nations Finland and Sweden.

July 15, 2009, TEHRAN, Iran - Caspian Airlines, Flight 7908 An Iranian passenger plane crashed in the northwest of Tehran, near the city of Qazvin. All 12 flight crew and 156 passengers were killed.

Russian built Tupolev jet had departed Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport about 11:33 Iran Daylight Time and was enroute to the Armenian capital Yerevan. About 16 minutes into the flight, the aircraft crashed into an open field near Jannat-abad village near Qazvin about 75 miles northwest of Tehran. Witnesses report the the plane�s tail burst into flames as the aircraft circled as it looked for a place to land before crashing.  

Among the passengers were eight members of the Iran's national youth judo team, with two trainers and a delegation chief. They were scheduled to train with the Armenian judo team before attending competitions in Hungary on Aug. 6, state TV reported.

The Russian built aircraft was built in 1987 and has served Caspian Airlines since 1998. 

Caspian Airlines was established in 1993 in Tehran, Iran. It operates services between Tehran and other major cities in Iran and international Flights to Armenia, Syria, Turkey, UAE and Ukraine. Its main base is Mehrabad International Airport, Tehran. 

Caspian Airlines operate more than 50 regular and numerous charter flights per week between the cities of Iran, same as several scheduled international flights to Hungary, UAE, Syria, Ukraine, Armenia, Belarus, Turkey.