Ebrahim Raisi

[Simon]

Per title. Nothing of value was lost, apart from a helicopter.

[jamcg]

Given the fragile situation in the region, at least this initially appears accidental

[Sundayjumper]

The quote marks here are doing the work:

IMG_1104.jpeg (10.02 KiB) Viewed 1084 times

[duncs500]

If it was an accident the timing is pretty unfortunate for regional stability, mind you, I think with states like Iran you are probably equally as likely to be bumped off by your internal political rivals as those of another state.

Who gets blamed officially could also vary depending on the optics of course. Early indications seem to be that Iran doesn't yet want to point the finger at Israel, which is surprising no matter the real cause.

[mik]

Reports are saying that the heli was an old Bell 212. 2-rotor, twin engine.

I have no idea what kinda tech is on-board, but these first went on sale in the late 60's, with (had to go and check) final deliveries in the late 90's. So the Heli was at least 26yrs old - likely older.

Obviously I have zero idea whether age or lack of current tech for flying in poor weather were factors - just adding info....

Library image - not actual 'copter.

[Ascender]

First reaction was "accident", but it's incredible to see some of the shit boxes which are still flying in places like that. Add in a bit of bad weather, flying in tricky terrain, its not a big leap to come to the conclusion that it probably was an accident and there's nothing more to see here.

[Explosive Newt]

Reports are saying that the heli was an old Bell 212. 2-rotor, twin engine.

I have no idea what kinda tech is on-board, but these first went on sale in the late 60's, with (had to go and check) final deliveries in the late 90's. So the Heli was at least 26yrs old - likely older.

Obviously I have zero idea whether age or lack of current tech for flying in poor weather were factors - just adding info....

Library image - not actual 'copter.

The other issue is because of Western sanctions, the access to spare parts and decent maintenance for these is extremely poor. No doubt many are in a state of disrepair.

[Gavster]

The footage they were showing of the recovery effort demonstrates that the weather and visibility was absolutely atrocious, which also point towards a genuine accident.

[Sundayjumper]

Library image - not actual 'copter.

Obviously. The actual one is rather..... flatter.

Briefly reading online stuff, and relating to Duncs' "bumped off by your internal rivals" angle, Raisi was tipped to succeed Khamenei, but now the role might go to Khamenei's son. That's handy.

[Mito Man]

Signed thousands of death warrants for political prisoners according to the BBC feed. Hopefully it was a particularly drawn out death.

[Simon]

Signed thousands of death warrants for political prisoners according to the BBC feed. Hopefully it was a particularly drawn out death.

Yeah, if you are at all of a human nature I suggest you don't read about the mass executions he signed off on, including of children.

Hope Raisi barbecued well after the crash. Good riddance, tosser.

[Beany]

RIP in piss, you won't be missed, and all that.

[Sundayjumper]

https://www.ft.com/content/6b09b0a7-68f ... fc9193cebw

Raisi was travelling in a helicopter purchased by the ousted Pahlavi dynasty in the 1970s. The Islamic Republic has not been able to upgrade its civilian and military aviation industry due to US sanctions.

Iran’s former foreign minister Javad Zarif blamed the US for Raisi’s death, saying it “has sanctioned the sale of airplane and aviation parts to Iran and does not allow the Iranian people to enjoy aviation rights”. He added: “These will be recorded in the list of America’s crimes against the Iranian people.”

I do find it perpetually baffling that various regimes that are hell bent on destroying the west, especially attacking the US, are also utterly dependent on the west for technology and nice things in general. It’s like they’ve really really not thought it through.

[Mito Man]

Sometimes at Heathrow I occasionally see a battered dirty Iran Air, it's usually an Airbus A330. Look it up online and they're generally from the 90's
Raises a fair few questions. Do sanctions allow them parts for passenger aircraft or are these just being kept flying with a prayer and some DIY? I'd hope it's the former considering that they're usually circling around London a fair bit on approach to landing!
Also I thought there's pretty strict noise limits for jet engines so they keep having to be updated to be quieter, so are these old aircraft running newish engines?

[Sundayjumper]

TV station sorry after falling for joke that pilot was Mossad agent ‘Eli Kopter’

[John]

Sometimes at Heathrow I occasionally see a battered dirty Iran Air, it's usually an Airbus A330. Look it up online and they're generally from the 90's
Raises a fair few questions. Do sanctions allow them parts for passenger aircraft or are these just being kept flying with a prayer and some DIY? I'd hope it's the former considering that they're usually circling around London a fair bit on approach to landing!
Also I thought there's pretty strict noise limits for jet engines so they keep having to be updated to be quieter, so are these old aircraft running newish engines?

I’m sure I’ve heard that they also aren’t allowed to refuel here so have to carry enough for the return journey.

[Mito Man]

I think I read about that too somewhere, then again I presume it's actually better for them to not refuel if the airplane can do a round trip safely because they produce fuel domestically so can refill for a fraction of what it would cost to refuel here.

I just looked up their petrol prices for interest
"Each car in Iran has a petrol ration of 60 litres per month, priced at IRR15,000 per litre (around $0.02). For more petrol, drivers must pay double the price of subsidised fuel while still using their fuel cards; however, this second fuel price appears to be closing."
So yeah, kerosene must be even less!

[nuttinnew]

TV station sorry after falling for joke that pilot was Mossad agent ‘Eli Kopter’

https://x.com/TheMossadIL/status/179221 ... 47/photo/1

[Sundayjumper]

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[DeskJockey]

IMG_1107.jpeg

I've been a fan of The Onion for a very long time. Quality work.