Helicopter in Iranian president's convoy crashes, 19 May '24


"Images posted to social media and deemed credible by VOA Persian showed opponents of Iran’s authoritarian Islamist rulers setting off fireworks in multiple locations late Sunday to celebrate the prospect of Raisi’s demise."
 
Yes.... and no.

The term "hard landing" usually implies that the aircraft was under some control when it, well, "crashed". In contrast, "crashed" usually implies little to no control.

Likewise, "crashed" can mean total destruction of the aircraft. "Hard Landing" implies less destruction and that the aircraft is salvageable- though some hard landings are written off as not being economical to repair.

In the end, "hard landings" often leave at least some survivors. "Crashes" usually do not have many survivors.
From the BBC’s coverage of this event: “Hard landing is a phrase often used by authorities in Russia to describe incidents when aircraft crash. It is commonly used by the Russian Defence Ministry when reporting incidents with military aircraft.

For example, in June 2022 an Il-76 military cargo plane crashed in Russia’s Ryazan region, killing five service personnel on board. The Russian military initially described the incident as a hard landing, despite the fact that the aircraft was almost completely destroyed on impact.”

 

Search teams reach site of heat source but have not yet found helicopter crash site

From CNN's Artemis Moshtaghian
Search and rescue teams have arrived at the location where a heat source was identified in the mountainous region of Iran's East Azerbaijan province, but have not yet located the crash site of the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Iran's semi-official FARS news agency reported.
 

Rescuers find Raisi’s helicopter

Several Iranian media outlets have cited the Red Crescent as saying that rescue teams have found Raisi’s helicopter.
The Red Crescent did not provide information on whether the president and his companions have survived or not.

eta: and CNN :

JUST IN: Rescuers locate crash site of helicopter carrying Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi, state media says

From CNN's Negar Mahmoodi and Artemis Moshtaghian

The crash site of the helicopter carrying Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi and the country's foreign minister has been located, Iranian state news agency IRNA and semi-official news outlet ISNA reported on Monday.
Rescuers are approaching the scene of the accident, ISNA said, citing Pir-Hossein Kolivand, head of the Iranian Red Crescent.
State media did not give the exact location of the site.
 
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Aviation Safety Network # 388106

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Bell 212

First flight: 1968
2 Turboprop engines
432 occurrences in the ASN safety database
630 fatalities

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Medical and rescue teams from Iranian town of Verzegan arrive at the accident site after one of the helicopters in Iranian President Raisi's convoy crashed following the inauguration of a dam on the border along with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Jabrayil district of Azerbaijan on May 19, 2024. (Photo by Azin Haghighi / Moj News Agency/Anadolu via Getty Images)
ANADOLU VIA GETTY IMAGES
''As the sun rose Monday, rescuers saw the helicopter from a distance of some 2 kilometers (1.25 miles), the head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, Pir Hossein Kolivand, told state media. He did not elaborate and the officials had been missing at that point by over 12 hours.''
 
BREAKING: "No survivors" found at crash site of helicopter carrying Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi, Iranian agencies report


No survivors" were found at the crash site of the helicopter carrying Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi, Iranian state news agency IRINN and semi-official news agency Mehr News reported.
 
Posted at 23:0523:05

BREAKING'No sign of life' at Raisi helicopter wreck site - state TV​

“There is "no sign" of life coming from President Ebrahim Raisi's helicopter, state TV says.
Reuters has also reported that the helicopter was "completely burned" in the crash, citing an Iranian official.
"President Raisi’s helicopter was completely burned in the crash... unfortunately, all passengers are feared dead," the official said.”

 
Of course, the investigators will have to determine if it was an accident, sabotage, terrorism, etc.

Imo it will be just what it appears…bad weather, fog that obscured the mountain.

Just like Kobe Bryant. Killed by a cloud, essentially.

Unlike Kobe, I shed no tears here. The death of the leader of the world’s top terrorist sponsor does not make me sad.

My opinion.
 
"Iran President News LIVE: Mohammad Mokhber to be interim president

Iran President News LIVE: In Iran, if the president passes away during their term, Article 131 of the constitution dictates that the first vice president, currently Mohammad Mokhber, assumes temporary presidency, subject to confirmation by the supreme leader. Furthermore, a council composed of the first vice president, the parliamentary speaker, and the judiciary head must oversee the arrangement of a new presidential election within a maximum period of 50 days."

 

"Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, known for enforcing brutal crackdowns on political opposition and seen as a potential successor to the supreme leader, has died in a helicopter crash landing in the country’s north, state media reported Monday. He was 63 years old."

and

"Two helicopters traveling with Raisi made their destination unharmed."
 
Caught up. I was watching a Netflix movie.

Completely expected....no survivors. How could anyone possibly survive a helicopter crash into a forest in the mountains? Not even a chance for a crash landing on a relatively clear surface, plus likely there was zero visibility.

Thing that confused me though was the early reports that contact was made with 2 crew members. I can't even see that someone may have been alive and conscious for a short while, ...unless there was a Mayday? just before the crash?

I do not mourn this President.

I do feel sorry for the families of the crew.
 
It sounds like the helicopter flew into the forested, mountainous terrain in fog. This is known as controlled flight into terrain (CFIT). The pilot probably lost situational awareness due to the fog. It is a common accident scenario. I hope that foreign governments are not blamed for what is most likely an accident.
 
Thing that confused me though was the early reports that contact was made with 2 crew members. I can't even see that someone may have been alive and conscious for a short while, ...unless there was a Mayday? just before the crash?

I wonder if it was just a mistaken report? Or maybe some kind of cellphone or transponder ping was detected? Imo.
 

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