Final investigation results have revealed that the helicopter crash in which late Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi was killed in May was caused by bad weather and no foul play was involved.
Iranian news outlet Fars reported citing official sources that the ill-fated helicopter was carrying more weight than the prescribed limit, hindering the pilot’s ability to operate it with ease.
This corroborates the Iranian military’s preliminary investigation in May which claimed that there was no evidence of foul play in the crash.
“The investigation in the case of Ayatollah Raisi’s helicopter crash has been completed … there is complete certainty that what happened was an accident,” the official source was quoted as saying by Fars news agency.
Two reasons identified
Officials listed two reasons for the crash that killed not only the former president but also serving foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
First, the weather conditions were not favourable.
And second, the helicopter couldn’t handle the weight it was carrying. As per reports, the helicopter was carrying two people more than the capacity that security protocols dictate.
Iranian military investigation
Earlier in May, the Iranian military in its preliminary investigation found that there were no traces of “bullet holes” on the helicopter wreckage.
“No suspicious content was observed during the communications between the watch tower and the flight crew,” it added.
The final communication between the president’s craft and two accompanying helicopters happened approximately a minute and a half before the crash.
The wreckage was found in Iran’s mountainous northwest by Iranian drones after it went down while returning from a trip to Iran’s border with Azerbaijan. The president had earlier inaugurated a dam project with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
(With inputs from agencies)