The crash that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and a number of other different senior officers on Sunday was the deadliest helicopter crash lately.
For most individuals, the reminiscence of the helicopter crash in California that killed retired NBA star Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, and 7 different folks 4 years in the past in all probability involves thoughts. But in 2018, Thai businessman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who owned Leicester City Football Club, died together with 4 others in a helicopter crash. The yr earlier than, Troy Gentry, then a part of nation music artist Montgomery Gentry, was additionally killed in an accident in New Jersey.
An investigation into the crash that killed Bryant and others aboard a Sikorsky S-76B discovered that the pilot turned disoriented when the helicopter plunged right into a cloud embankment and thought he was climbing, when in actuality he crashed into the facet of a hill. I concluded that he had been stabbed. Although the crash that killed Gentry was additionally blamed on pilot error, an investigation into the crash involving Vichai concluded that the Leonardo AW169 helicopter crashed as a result of a failure in its rear rotor mechanism.
It is not possible to say with certainty what triggered Sunday’s crash in Iran, which killed Raisi, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdullahian and others. However, a couple of issue could also be concerned.
Could unhealthy climate have been an element within the deadly accident?
Initial experiences in regards to the crash in Iran urged the helicopter was flying in “foggy, mountainous terrain in northwestern Iran,” in keeping with the Associated Press.
Bad climate is the main reason for helicopter and rotorcraft crashes. According to an evaluation offered on the National Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ 2021 Forum, climate was a consider 28% of deadly helicopter accidents.
“While wind was concerned in most accidents, it was not often related to fatalities. Poor visibility as a result of a mix of low mild and clouds was accountable for almost all of weather-related fatalities.” It is said within the abstract.
The report notes that helicopters “usually fly at decrease altitudes than fixed-wing plane and may take off and land at larger distances from airports. Helicopter pilots subsequently should take care of connectivity points and climate circumstances in these areas and airports.” “Sparse protection reduces entry to climate info.” Their altitude. ”
In February, a CH-53E Super Stallion, the most important helicopter operated by the U.S. army, crashed into the mountains outdoors San Diego throughout a storm, killing 5 Marines.
Helicopters are extra harmful than airplanes
Although it’s troublesome to instantly examine the protection data of various modes of transportation, a 2019 evaluation by journey web site The Points Guy discovered that air journey is considerably safer than “irregular helicopter flights.” It is usually recommended that there’s. But these helicopter flights have been rated far safer than “common aviation” reminiscent of driving or using in a automotive or SUV, and even flying in a non-public airplane.
Thanks to automation, most planes can tolerate momentary distractions from the pilot, however “helicopters require plenty of focus,” mentioned John Goglia, former commissioner of the National Transportation Safety Board. he advised PBS earlier this yr. “So generally folks lose focus. [then] The penalties are severe. ”
Juan Mavromata/AFP through Getty Images
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AFP through Getty Images
The Argentine Air Force Bell 212 helicopter seen in March 2015 is just like the one which crashed in Iran on Sunday.
Iranian president’s helicopter was an outdated plane
The helicopter that crashed in Iran was a Bell 212, a twin-engine civilian model of the venerable “Huey” UH-1 that was fashionable throughout the Vietnam War within the Sixties and 70s.
The Bell 212 and different army plane have been concerned in about 30 accidents since 2017, eight of which resulted in fatalities, in keeping with the Aviation Safety Network, which maintains a database of accidents for numerous plane.
According to the UAE’s state-run English-language day by day The National, the Iranian Bell 212 was probably bought within the Seventies, when the Shah was nonetheless in energy, earlier than the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
US sanctions make it troublesome to acquire spare components
The newspaper mentioned that even after the Shah’s overthrow, Iran continued to make use of many American-made plane, however “confronted difficulties in acquiring spare components as a result of U.S. sanctions.”
Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency quoted Javad Mashayekh, deputy for scientific growth of the knowledge-based financial system, as saying in March that the nation had lastly develop into one hundred pc self-sufficient within the provide of spare plane components, with out particularly mentioning helicopter components.
Mehr News Agency reported that Mashaek mentioned that Iran had beforehand relied “closely” on overseas sources for such elements and that US sanctions imposed on Iran’s nuclear program “have It has triggered difficulties in some respects.”
In a commentary printed by the Gulf International Forum, journalist Kourosh Ziabari mentioned, “Iran’s aviation business has been ravaged by years of neglect, underinvestment, and harsh sanctions,” including, “Accidents are recurring. “Safety requirements for air transport are steadily declining.”
Mysterious crash kills politicians and rivals
Although there isn’t a fast indication of sabotage within the Iranian helicopter crash, it has been suspected prior to now that aviation “accidents” have been used as a method of eliminating nationwide leaders or political opponents. There is.
In August final yr, Evgeny Prigozhin, the chief of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group that led a failed coup in opposition to the Kremlin, was killed when his personal jet crashed right into a subject outdoors Moscow. Many consider that the destruction of the airplane was ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In April 1994, Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu, was killed when his airplane was shot down by a missile. This incident triggered the Rwandan genocide. As a results of the investigation, the alleged perpetrator was not charged.
And in 1988, Pakistan’s President Mohammed Zia-ul-Haq was killed when the C-130 transport airplane he was touring in abruptly crashed shortly after taking off from the airport within the jap Pakistani metropolis of Bahawalpur. Witnesses reported seeing the airplane flying erratically after which decreasing its nostril.
An official Pakistani report later concluded that “absent technical causes, the one attainable reason for the accident is the prevalence of felony exercise or sabotage.”
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