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World News / Re: Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi is missing in helicopter crash as Tehran says 'his life is at ri
« Last post by PeteS in CA on Today at 02:18:05 pm »From https://apnews.com/article/helicopter-iran-raisi-crash-azerbaijan-3ef9fe5772fb06f6d9dcc371b115923f :
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.
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.
Quote
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.
Quote
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.
