Iranian president Raisi dies in helicopter crash: Drone locates wreck
On May 19, 2024, in a plane crash, the President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, died. A Turkish Bayraktar drone found the wreck of the crashed Bell 412 aircraft.
In the crash, besides President Ebrahim Raisi, the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hossein Amir Abdollahijan, the Governor of East Azerbaijan, Malik Rahmati, and the Imam of Tabriz, Mohammad Ali Al-Hashem, also perished.
The search for the missing helicopter returning from the inauguration ceremony of the dam on the Aras River was aided by the air forces of Azerbaijan and Turkey. The Bayraktar Akinci drone, capable of staying in the air for up to 24 hours, is located at the crash site.
American air taxi for Iranian VIPs
Iran uses a fleet of Bell 212 and 412 helicopters for VIP transport. These multi-purpose civilian aircraft are an evolution of the Bell 204/205 models, which originated from the military Bell UH-1 Iroquois (Huey) model, famous for its use in the Vietnam War. Many factors indicate that the wreckage found is from this specific helicopter.
Due to their reliability and low operational costs, private users highly valued civilian variants, leading to their widespread use globally. It is worth noting that apart from being manufactured in the USA (Fort Worth, Texas), these helicopters were also produced in Canada (Mirabel), Japan (Subaru-Bell), and Italy (Agusta-Bell).
Over time, Iran also started producing these helicopters (Shabaviz family) and spare parts through the Iran Aircraft Manufacturing (HESA) and Iran Helicopter Support and Renewal (Panha) facilities, based on reverse engineering of the existing machines. The situation is similar to that with the AH-1 Cobra helicopters and F-14 Tomcat aircraft acquired before the Islamic Revolution. Some Bell helicopters may also have been obtained through attempts to purchase helicopters in Europe from civilian users.
The Bell 212/412 family helicopters are twin-engine structures weighing about 3 tonnes and measuring 56 feet (17 meters) in length. They can carry up to 13 passengers or 3 tonnes of cargo. This specification offers ample possibilities for VIP cabin arrangements. Additionally, with a range of nearly 996 kilometres (620 miles), a flight speed of up to 257 kilometres per hour (160 mph), and a maximum altitude of 5,990 metres (19,685 feet), delegations or cargo efficiently reach their destinations.
The cause of the Iranian crash remains unknown, but deplorable weather conditions at the crash site (very dense fog) or the aircraft's technical condition could have significantly influenced it. It is worth noting that these machines are several decades old and are maintained without the official producer's support. The parts are locally manufactured and produced under limited access to the global market due to sanctions imposed on Iran.
