Iran Releases Final Report on Ex-President’s Helicopter Crash
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces issued the final investigation report on a helicopter crash that resulted in the martyrdom of former President Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage in May, attributing the accident to bad weather.
The final investigation said the incident was caused by weather conditions that included thick fog.
The helicopter carrying president Raisi, former foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and six others came down on May 19 on a fog-shrouded mountainside in northwestern Iran. Their bodies were found the following day after a massive search operation.
The report, published by the General Staff on Sunday, ruled out sabotage or tampering as the reason behind the tragic incident, saying the "complex climatic and atmospheric conditions of the region in the spring was the main cause of the crash."
It added that "the sudden emergence of a thick mass of dense and rising fog" caused the helicopter to crash into the mountainside, Press TV reported.
According to the report, all documents related to the helicopter's repairs and maintenance since its purchase and use before the incident were thoroughly reviewed by military and civilian experts, who announced that all the measures had been conducted under standard regulations.
It noted that experts also examined the helicopter's flight path and confirmed that it adhered to its predetermined route and had no deviation during the flight.
Experts have also recovered the pilot’s iPad which proved the correctness of information on the helicopter’s flight path throughout the flight, the report said.
It added that Iran’s Defense Ministry’s experts precisely examined the remaining parts and systems from the crashed helicopter -including engines, power transmission systems, fuel systems, and electronic equipment- and found no defects that could have caused the crash.
It explained that the reports of Iran’s Meteorological Organization from the day before and the day of the accident have been examined by experts.
The report further said a forensic committee conducted toxicological and pathological tests on the remains of the victims and found no suspicious case.
The investigation also ruled out the possibility of any act of sabotage of the crashed copter’s parts and systems. It also rejected that the helicopter may have been targeted by offensive and defensive systems, cyber-attacks, or magnetic fields and lasers.