The Bell 212 helicopter is versatile and reliable, but flying in fog is not possible either.
13:31•Updated 13:39
President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi and the country’s foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian were killed on Sunday when the Bell 212 helicopter carrying their convoy crashed in a mountainous region near the border with Azerbaijan.
The Bell 212 is a civil helicopter.
The model, developed from the Bell UH-1 Iroquois military transport helicopters of the Vietnam War, was introduced in the 1970s in Canada and the United States, reports news agency Reuters. The copter became popular worldwide with both governments and private individuals.
The Iranian Air Force and Navy reportedly have a dozen Bell 212 helicopters. A more advanced version of the copter was later developed, the Bell 412.
The utility helicopter Bell 212, which is suitable for many purposes, is used by at least the Japanese coast guard, the US police and fire authorities, and the Thai police, Reuters reports.
Expert: It’s impossible to fly in fog
The helicopter crash happened on Sunday in dense fog near the border with Azerbaijan.
The type inspector who flew the helicopter model in question himself Jussi Kolosalmi Agrolentopalvelus said on Radio Suomen Päivä that the Bell 212 is a reliable type of aircraft, but it is impossible to fly in fog.
In the mountains, the weather changes quickly, and sudden fog is a very challenging situation, says Kolosalmi. In the fog, one would have to immediately find a place to land or return back.
– It is an impossible task to know where the mountain is.
A copter is, in principle, a forever device if properly maintained
In principle, the Bell 212 is a good machine even at around 50 years old, Kolosalmi estimates.
– These are very reliable copters from the 1970s or early 1980s. If the helicopter is maintained as it should be and the parts are replaced with the parts that the factory specified, then the helicopter is basically a forever device.
However, Iran has its problems: sanctions.
– Since Iran is under sanctions, the right parts have not necessarily been received there, and for example the overhaul of the gearbox could have been left undone, thinks Kolosalmi, but emphasizes that there is no factual information now.
According to Kolosalmi, the satellite navigation system could have been disrupted, but the assumptions about outside secret work are pure speculation at this point.
The Bell 212, praised for its reliability and strength, had an accident last September on the coast of the United Arab Emirates. The crash helicopter was privately owned.
The Iranian-owned Bell helicopter last crashed in 2018. Four people died in the accident.
Sources: Reuters