Summary
- The US government has seized a Boeing 747-300M aircraft that was illegally transferred from an Iranian-sanctioned organization to Venezuela.
- The aircraft violated American export control laws and had a checkered past before being detained in Argentina since 2022.
- Venezuela has challenged the seizure and accused the US and Argentinian governments of violating civil aeronautics regulations.
The US Government has finally seized a Boeing 747-300M aircraft that was sold by an Iranian-sanctioned organization to Venezuela that violated American export control laws. Bearing registration YV3531, that aircraft has had a checkered past and has since touched down in Florida, where it can be disposed of.
The aircraft had initially been transferred from Mahan Air, which US sanctions have restricted for years. They allegedly had been providing support for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps before moving the aircraft to Emtrasur, which is a Venezuelan cargo carrier, one other organization that the US currently sanctions.
![EMTRASUR Boeing 747-300 In Buenos Aires June 2022](https://static1.simpleflyingimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/GettyImages-1241266599.jpg)
US DOJ Wants To Seize EMTRASUR’s Boeing 747-300M
Venezuelan cargo airline EMTRASUR may find itself with no plane after the DOJ obtained a warrant in July to seize its sole 747-300M freighter.
Transferred without permission
US officials have stated that without US government authorization, the movement of this aircraft violated its export control laws and, in return, benefited Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. The justice department stated that since we’ve got detained the aircraft, it can be ‘prepared for disposition.’ The aircraft pictured below is similar variant, belonging to a different carrier:
Of the identical variant as pictured above, the detained aircraft, YV3531 (serial number 23413), first took flight in January 1986 and was delivered to French airline Union de Transports Aériens (UTA) under registration F-GETA; it remained of their possession until 1992, before being transferred to Air France, then stored from 2006.
Mahan Air took control of the aircraft in 2007, where its registration was modified to EK-74713, and subsequently EP-MND, before its move to South America, to Emtrasur Cargo, where it then claimed its current registration, and was nicknamed ‘Luisa Cáceres De Arismendi.’ In accordance with Airfleets, it’s powered by 4 General Electric CF6-50E2 engines.
![IMG_2786-3](https://static1.simpleflyingimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/img_2786-3.jpeg)
Grounded Cargo Boeing 747 Ordered To Be Turned Over To The US
A Argentinian judge has agreed to permit the US Marshal Service to reprocess a Emtrasur 747 held in Argentina