After a night of searching, rescuers finally arrived at the "hard landing" of Iran's presidential plane on the morning of May 20, and the wreckage of the helicopter crashing into a mountain and exploding was scattered. Many people, including Iranian President Raisi and Iranian Foreign Minister Abdollahian, were killed in the accident using a U.S.-made Bell 212 helicopter. With the incompatible relationship between the United States and Iran, the Iranian presidential plane actually chose American goods, and it was a classic plane dozens of years old. This makes it difficult for the outside world to understand why the Russian-made Mi-8 "Hippo" series is not used, and the US aircraft, which is still the biggest enemy, at least at present, must be used.
坠毁前起飞Screen
Footage from the plane before the crash
On May 19, Raisi led a delegation to the border region to attend the inauguration of a dam between the two countries with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The whole team was divided into three helicopters, and on the return trip, the weather was bad, strong winds, heavy rain, and heavy fog, and the other two helicopters flew to their destination in addition to Leahy's plane. The incident occurred about 600 kilometers away from Tehran, the first person, and it was difficult to rescue in the border area, and it was reported at the time that the Bell 212 was a "hard landing" waiting for rescue, and even the Iranian side said that it had made contact with the helicopter.
Of course, if an accident occurs to the president of a country, it must not be directly and easily concluded without final confirmation, whether it is for the needs of public opinion propaganda or to prevent the spread of more unfavorable information. However, through this incident, it has also revealed that there are indeed some unsatisfactory facts on the Iranian side, such as although the search is difficult due to terrain and weather reasons. But it was Turkey that dispatched drones, and it was only after finding a place that the shared coordinates were broken through, and Iran, which has always regarded itself as a drone power, did not meet expectations in this area, and then there was the question of the choice of presidential planes.
The crash site
The crash site
The equipment of the Iranian Air Force was divided into two stages, all American-style equipment during the Pahlavi period before 1979, and then Iran was subject to long-term sanctions and an arms embargo after the two broke up. If you can't buy a new aircraft, you can only extend the life of the old American fighter and reuse it, basically exhausting all the performance potential of the aircraft. It is conceivable that if this Bell 212 was purchased from the Pahlavi era, then its age would be more than 45 years old, and the president, foreign minister and other high-level dignitaries would actually sit in the same old plane.
The crash site
According to another report, the Bell 212 was purchased in Italy, the year of manufacture is 1994, registration number 6-9207, and the manufacturer's serial number is 35071. Then it is not young and the age of the aircraft is up to 30 years old, and the helicopter is only certified for visual flight, and at the same time it can only accommodate 6 passengers, and the 9 people in the accident are considered overloaded. Moreover, the relevant parts, due to US sanctions, have long been ended and maintenance is nowhere to be obtained, such an old and unreliable helicopter can still appear as a presidential car in Iran.
In terms of performance, the lack of power is not enough to adapt to the changing terrain, and it is necessary to constantly fly with high altitude and heavy loads in the mountains, and also consider bad weather conditions. In the absence of low-visibility instrument avionics flight capabilities, coupled with advanced age and lack of careful maintenance, and even the engine flight time has well exceeded 10,000 hours, the crash is not unexpected.
Bell 212 helicopter
Bell 212 helicopter
So is Iran only the choice of American helicopters, the fact is that although it is under sanctions, Iran still has to acquire and equip some Russian-made helicopters, and even has the ability to develop its own armed helicopters. The main transport helicopters include American-made CH-47, Bell 212, Mi-8/171 series helicopters, it is obvious that the Russian-made "Hippo" series is also sturdy and durable, and Russia can provide perfect after-sales service, and there is no need to worry about no spare parts to replace.
Considering the incompatible relationship with the United States, it is more advantageous to choose a Russian-made helicopter as the president's car, and we can also see from the previous pictures that the president also traveled in the Mi-171. As for why they chose American-made models, although they are very old, Iranians may feel that Western equipment is more reliable, such as the F-14 "Tomcat", which also supports the safety of the Iranian sky. Coupled with the fact that the number of equipment is not large, the coexistence of American-made and Russian-made aircraft will exist for at least some time in Iranian high-level vehicles. As the life of American-made aircraft expires, it will be possible to completely change the status quo only after more Russian-made aircraft are purchased.
Mi-171 helicopter
Mi-171 helicopter