Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi is missing in helicopter crash as Tehran says 'his life is at risk'

[Wingnut]

Has Iran blamed Israel yet?   

[American Girl]

Why wouldn’t they lie?

It’s a government. One-third of its responsibility is telling lies, just like any other government. The US government would have reflexively lied too, in the same situation.

Governments don’t tell the truth until they’re forced.
Luckily we have reports like this one to help us understand how the corrupt government lies to us every day!

https://redstatenation.com/breaking-news-uncertainty-surrounds-irans-president-helicopter-crash-video/

[Mod2]

Merged topics.

[PeteS in CA]

From https://apnews.com/article/helicopter-iran-raisi-crash-azerbaijan-3ef9fe5772fb06f6d9dcc371b115923f :

The helicopter was carrying Raisi, (Foreign Minister) Amirabdollahian, the governor of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province and others officials, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

Raisi was returning on Sunday after traveling to Iran’s border with Azerbaijan to inaugurate a dam with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev when the crash happened in the Dizmar forest in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province.

Coordinating a multi-year dam project and celebrating its becoming operational doesn't exactly sound like Iran and Azerbaijan were hostile to each other, let alone enemies.

IRNA said the crash killed eight people in all, including three crew members aboard the Bell helicopter, which Iran purchased in the early 2000s. Aircraft in Iran face a shortage of parts, often flying without safety checks over Western sanctions. Because of that, former Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif sought to blame the United States for the crash.

My speculation about the condition of the helicopter may have been at least partly correct, though flying a helicopter through mountains in poor visibility may have been the proximate cause.

This was a civilian flight in friendly airspace. Passenger helicopters' top speed is in the 150 mph range, while jet fighters' cruising speed is 5X-10X faster. Why would a fighter escort be needed, and how would the speed mismatch be handled over several hundred miles of flight?

I'm open to new factual information, but this crash looks like an accident due to bad judgment and inclement weather, not the actions of Israel, Ukraine, or Purple Neptunians.

[PeteS in CA]

Iranian President Dead After Chopper Crash

https://hotair.com/jazz-shaw/2024/05/20/iranian-president-dead-after-chopper-crash-n3788696

Iran would no doubt have liked to find a way to blame this on Israel, the United States, or both, but that doesn't appear to be the case. The Weather Channel aired an interview with a chopper pilot who described flying in that region. The mountains rise up fast and when a storm moves in the visibility can drop to nearly zero. The flight probably should have been delayed, but it's too late now for the Butcher of Tehran and the eight others onboard.

So how much of an impact will this have on the situation in Iran? Most foreign policy analysts thus far seem to believe the impact will be minimal. If anything, this will simplify the contest to determine who will succeed 85-year-old Supreme Leader Imam Sayyid Ali Khamenei. For the time being, First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber will step up and assume the role of President for fifty days until an election can be held. But when Khamenei's time is up, the battle to be his successor had been seen as being between Raisi and Khamenei's son Mojtaba. This air traffic failure will likely clear the path for Mojtaba.

My emphasis.

Re the second paragraph, different monster, same monstrousness.

[roamer_1]

Damned gravity!!   

Planes often disappear in the Rockies for decades.

[DCPatriot]

Iranian President Dead After Chopper Crash

https://hotair.com/jazz-shaw/2024/05/20/iranian-president-dead-after-chopper-crash-n3788696

My emphasis.

Re the second paragraph, different monster, same monstrousness.

Okay...please bear with me here.

If boat/ships can have transponders (is that the right word?) that can provide the topography of the seabed, why isn't that tool available for helicopters to determine same for approaching terrain?

Thanks in advance.   

[catfish1957]

Okay...please bear with me here.

If boat/ships can have transponders (is that the right word?) that can provide the topography of the seabed, why isn't that tool available for helicopters to determine same for approaching terrain?

Thanks in advance.   

I also find it strange, that Iran, like every other country on earth, wouldn't take better precautions with national leaders in Helcopter/Jet travel.....   Maintenance, pilot skills,  hardware, etc.  I'm 60/40 on this one around nefarious factors.

[DB]

Okay...please bear with me here.

If boat/ships can have transponders (is that the right word?) that can provide the topography of the seabed, why isn't that tool available for helicopters to determine same for approaching terrain?

Thanks in advance.   

There's no reason why a helicopter can't have radar to detect approaching terrain. More to this story than is being reported.

[catfish1957]

There's no reason why a helicopter can't have radar to detect approaching terrain. More to this story than is being reported.

I remember Kobe Bryant's pilot was supposed to be a seasoned experienced pilot, who apparently was too cocky and took additonal risks.
Wonder how much was the same here?

[roamer_1]

Okay...please bear with me here.

If boat/ships can have transponders (is that the right word?) that can provide the topography of the seabed, why isn't that tool available for helicopters to determine same for approaching terrain?

Thanks in advance.   

Radar and instrument  flying is how you avoid the hard parts. But you can't see the downdraft that will smack you into the ground like  a fly swatter does a fly. The Rockies eat airplanes for lunch, with nary a burp.

[DB]

I remember Kobe Bryant's pilot was supposed to be a seasoned experienced pilot, who apparently was too cocky and took additonal risks.
Wonder how much was the same here?

Radar is expensive and adds weight reducing what can be carried. It also lights you up in the sky if you are in unfriendly territory. It would be pretty funny if it was equipped with radar but it was off to avoid being detected.

[Bigun]

Radar is expensive and adds weight reducing what can be carried. It also lights you up in the sky if you are in unfriendly territory. It would be pretty funny if it was equipped with radar but it was off to avoid being detected.

All commercial aircraft in the U.S. are now required to have terrain avoidance systems (multiple) and they still crash. I'm sure this is no different.

[bigheadfred]

There were three helicopters traveling together. I think it had a mechanical failure and went down hard.

[240B]

So far, we do not know anything in terms of what actually happened. We do not know if it was a helicopter or a jet. We do not know where he actually took off from or where he was supposedly going. We do not know if we have the true and complete passenger manifest. We do not even know 'for certain' that the President is actually dead. This could be one of those famous fake-out deaths which despots all over the world do routinely to lure competitors and revolutionaries to 'out' themselves.

All of this will settle in a few weeks/months. Until then, anything can happen.

[mountaineer]

The UN mourn the hell-going of this monster.
https://x.com/RedWave_Press/status/1792604506703728865

[mountaineer]

Biden also mourns the hell-going of this monster:

End Wokeness
@EndWokeness
BREAKING: The Biden administration finally releases a heartfelt, touching statement to mourn Laken Riley.
Just kidding. It was for the Butcher Of Iran.

2:04 PM · May 20, 2024

[mystery-ak]

https://twitter.com/KatiePavlich/status/1792594935683723603

[mystery-ak]

https://twitter.com/charliekirk11/status/1792611843007197351

[DCPatriot]

There were three helicopters traveling together. I think it had a mechanical failure and went down hard.

There are always three helicopters traveling with the POTUS, but always thought it was to confuse some terrorist with a shoulder fired missile...like a pea under the walnut, etc..

[GtHawk]

There are always three helicopters traveling with the POTUS, but always thought it was to confuse some terrorist with a shoulder fired missile...like a pea under the walnut, etc..

With the way things are today it would be no problem for three, thirty or three thousand terrorists to cross our border with the weapons and take out all three copters...of course they would have no reason to take out Joe since he is effectively playing on their team.

[DCPatriot]

With the way things are today it would be no problem for three, thirty or three thousand terrorists to cross our border with the weapons and take out all three copters...of course they would have no reason to take out Joe since he is effectively playing on their team.

Not so much with Biden, but used to see the trio pass over my neighborhood a lot on their way to Camp David, located in Thurmont, Maryland.  Today, it would be safer to use the copters as decoys and simply drive up North I-270 to Camp David

Seems nobody uses it like Presidents Reagan and President George Bush (father AND son)

[mountaineer]

U.S. Senate chaplain mourns the hell-going of this monster:
https://x.com/HowardMortman/status/1792632774207135943

[Kamaji]

[Elderberry]

'Holy [bleep]. They did it!' Biden sends condolences over 'Butcher of Tehran' death

WND 5/20/2024

'This statement from the State Department makes absolutely no sense'

Ebrahim Raisi, the Iranian official killed over the weekend in a helicopter crash, was not just the president of Iran.

He was the "Butcher of Tehran," known for holding five-minute "trials" for thousands of his own people and then sending them immediately to the execution squads.

And for this killer, who terrorized his own people, who had attempted to assassinate American officials including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who, by many assessments was a mass murderer, Joe Biden sent "condolences."

The statement actually was attributed to "spokesperson" Matthew Miller of the State Department under Biden, and said, "The United States expresses its official condolences for the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Amri-Abdollahian, and other members of their delegation in a helicopter crash in northwest Iran. As Iran selects a new president, we reaffirm our support for the Iranian people and their struggle for human rights and fundamental freedoms."

Gabriel Noronha
@GLNoronha

The @statedept  send its condolences on the death of Ebrahim Raisi.

Raisi was overseeing the Ministry of Intelligence’s efforts to assassinate senior former U.S. diplomats, including Secretary Blinken’s predecessor, @mikepompeo
, and my former boss Brian Hook.

https://x.com/GLNoronha/status/1792605187762217235

More: https://www.wnd.com/2024/05/holy-bleep-biden-sends-condolences-butcher-tehran-death/