Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIran President's Crash Highlights Struggle to Upgrade an Aging Fleet
https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/iran-president-helicopter-crash-1964-bell-922615c1Iran Presidents Crash Highlights Struggle to Upgrade an Aging Fleet
Ebrahim Raisi died aboard a U.S.-made helicopter model that dates to the Vietnam War era, a reflection of Tehrans difficulty in securing parts amid sanctions
By Benoit Faucon
May 23, 2024 7:18 am ET
In July, the commander of Irans air force used a set of public remarks to offer some offhand praise for the countrys chopper armada. Today, the Iranian Army Aviation functions as the largest and strongest helicopter fleet in West Asia, Brigadier General Yousef Ghorbani said at a press conference.
The crash that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister this past weekend tells a different story: They died aboard a decades-old U.S.-made helicopter, part of an aging fleet that has been starved of spare parts by Western sanctions.
Iranian authorities say they are still investigating what caused the crash. So far, they are attributing it to a technical failure amid mountainous terrain and foggy weather, according to Irans state media. A number of prominent voices inside and outside the country have blamed U.S. sanctions targeting Irans nuclear program, which Tehran says is peaceful.
Iranian state media named the model that crashed as the dual-rotor Bell 212, first produced in 1968, and deployed by the U.S. military during its war in Vietnam. The last Bell 212 was made in 1998.
The chopper that Raisi boarded was manufactured in 1994 by the Canadian unit of what was then known as Bell Helicopter Textron, then delivered to Irans air force, according to Cirium Ascend, a U.K.-based aviation analytics company.
...
![](https://i.imgur.com/ZE4SbMF.jpeg)
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
3 replies, 285 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (1)
ReplyReply to this post
3 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
![](du4img/smicon-reply-new.gif)
Iran President's Crash Highlights Struggle to Upgrade an Aging Fleet (Original Post)
dalton99a
May 23
OP
harumph
(1,968 posts)1. Poor babies...maybe if they spent less on Hammas and Hezbollah..,
they could afford new choppers.
JI7
(89,405 posts)2. I guess they prefer to spend on terrorism
Crunchy Frog
(26,753 posts)3. What I'm curious about is whose bright idea it was to fly the president and high ranking officials
in an old helicopter, over heavily forested, mountainous terrain that's known for bad weather and fog. It's not like they don't have passable roads in the area, which would seem to be much safer. It's like someone deliberately chose to transport him in the most dangerous way possible.