Passengers on a Sepehran Airlines Boeing 737 screamed in panic after part of the cabin ceiling collapsed onto them mid-flight, following a tyre blowout on takeoff from Mashhad, Iran, on Tuesday. The pilot declared an emergency and returned to Mashhad Hashemi Nejad International Airport, where the aircraft landed safely; no injuries were reported despite some passengers being struck by falling debris from damaged overhead compartments.

The flight, carrying 127 passengers and crew, had been heading to Kermanshah when the incident occurred; the plane is also believed to have suffered engine damage, and one of the airport's two runways was briefly closed. Passengers were later transferred to another aircraft to complete their journey, and a technical investigation is under way. The incident highlights the strain on Iran's aviation sector, which has long relied on ageing aircraft and complex maintenance workarounds due to international sanctions restricting access to new planes and genuine spare parts.