The Bell-212 helicopter that was carrying Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and its foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian “did not have its signal system turned on or did not possess such a system”. The assessment was made by Turkish transport minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu, according to a report by the BBC.
He further said that neighbouring country Turkey hosts an emergency research coordination centre for aviation accidents and Iran falls into its area of responsibility.
“We checked for a signal from the helicopter, but unfortunately, most likely the signal system was turned off or that the helicopter did not have that signal system, we could not detect them,” Uraloglu was quoted as saying.
Turkey said that they received a call from Iran on Sunday night seeking assistance to detect the signal. “We checked for the signal, as we always do when requested, but there was so signal,” an official told UK broadcaster BBC.
The official did not elaborate on whether the chopper was equipped with the system or whether it did not have the latest technology. He also could not confirm if it was turned off for security reasons.
“All kinds of aircrafts, especially the ones which are carrying state officials, should have this system,” the official said.
Former foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif blamed the crash on continued US sanctions which have impeded the sale of aviation parts.
When asked about Zarif’s remark, the US state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said: “Ultimately, it’s the Iranian government that is responsible for the decision to fly a 45-year-old helicopter in what was described as poor weather conditions, not any other actor”.
A massive search and rescue operation started Sunday afternoon when two other helicopters in Raisi’s convoy lost contact with his aircraft amid harsh weather conditions in the mountainous region.
The Iranian state-run news agencies early Monday broke the news of his death, saying “the servant of the Iranian nation, Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi, has achieved the highest level of martyrdom”, showing pictures of him.
Killed alongside the Iranian president were Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, members of the provincial authorities of East Azerbaijan and his security team.
Iran’s military chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri on Monday ordered a probe into the cause of the crash.
Bell Helicopter, now Bell Textron, developed the aircraft for the Canadian military in the late 1960s as an upgrade to the UH-1 Iroquois. The new design featured two turboshaft engines instead of one, increasing its carrying capacity. First introduced in 1971, it was quickly adopted by both the militaries of the United States and Canada.
The Bell 212 can carry out various tasks, including carrying passengers, deploying firefighting gear, transporting cargo, and mounting weapons.
The Iranian model that crashed on Sunday was configured for government passengers. The latest version, the Subaru Bell 412, is advertised for police use, medical transport, troop transport, the energy industry, and firefighting. It can carry 15 people, including the crew, according to European Union Aviation Safety Agency certification documents.
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