How Helicopters That Killed Iranian President Raisi & CDF Ogolla Compare

State TV reported that images from the site showed the aircraft slammed into a mountain peak, although there was no official word on the cause of the crash.

Viral Tea Ke Writer Viral Tea Ke Writer
May 20, 2024 - 15:42 Updated: May 20, 2024 - 15:49
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How Helicopters That Killed Iranian President Raisi & CDF Ogolla Compare
President William Ruto with the late Iran President Ebrahim Raisi and the late former Chief of Defence Forces General Francis Ogolla (in blue uniform) at State House on July 12, 2023. /PCS

On Sunday evening, May 20, reports emerged that a helicopter carrying Iran President Ebrahim Raisi and his Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian crashed in mountainous terrain and icy weather in Northern Iran’s East Azerbaijan province. Nine people were on board the aircraft at the time of the crash. 

Iran's Mehr news agency among other international media outlets on Monday morning, May 20 confirmed the deaths, reporting that "all passengers of the helicopter carrying the Iranian president and foreign minister were martyred".

An Iranian official had told Reuters the helicopter carrying Raisi and Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian was completely burned in the crash on Sunday.

State TV reported that images from the site showed the aircraft slammed into a mountain peak, although there was no official word on the cause of the crash.

A helicopter carrying Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi takes off, near the Iran-Azerbaijan border, May 19, 2024. The helicopter with Raisi on board later crashed. /REUTERS

The chopper was reportedly involved in a 'hard-landing' incident and was part of a convoy of three helicopters, two of which reached their destinations successfully. The plane was flying over a mountainous region with heavy fog.

Raisi's Helicopter

State news agency IRNA said Raisi was flying in a U.S.-made Bell 212 helicopter. This was manufactured by BellFlight, a company that coincidentally produced the Bell Huey II that claimed the life of former Kenyan Chief of the Defence Forces (CDF) General Francis Ogolla on Thursday, April 18 in Sindar area along the West Pokot-Elgeyo Marakwet border.

Raisi's helicopter was however the civilian version of the ubiquitous Vietnam War-era UH-1N "Twin Huey," which is in wide use globally by both governments and private operators.

As per Reuters, Bell Helicopter (now Bell Textron, a division of Textron Inc), developed the aircraft for the Canadian military in the late 1960s as an upgrade of the original UH-1 Iroquois, which was used by the late General Ogolla on the fateful day (April 18), slightly over a month ago.

The new design used two turboshaft engines instead of one, giving it greater carrying capacity. The helicopter was introduced in 1971 and quickly adopted by both the United States and Canada, according to U.S. military training documents.

Uses

As a utility helicopter - the UH in its military designation represents those words - the Bell 212 is meant to be adaptable to all sorts of situations, including carrying people, deploying aerial firefighting gear, ferrying cargo and mounting weapons.

The Iranian model that crashed on Sunday was configured to carry government passengers. Bell Helicopter advertises the latest version, the Subaru Bell 412, for police use, medical transport, troop transport, the energy industry and firefighting.

According to its type certification documents with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, it can carry 15 people, including the crew.

Ogolla's Chopper

The late General Ogolla's chopper that crashed in April was an upgraded version of the Bell UH-1H Multi-mission medium-lift helicopter.

First designed between 1956 to 1987 and was mainly used by the United States Army, the Australian Army and Japan Ground Self Defence Forces, the copter is a logistical transport support helicopter weighing 2,252 kilogrammes. Its carrying capacity is 2,210 kilos.

Features & Uses

It has a flat cabin floor that can be configured for whatever logistical purpose intended, removable crew doors, crash-resistant fuel cells, a wire strike protection system, a rollover bulkhead, auto-rotation and chip detection.

Operated by one or two pilots, the Bell Huey II can attain a maximum cruising speed of 196 kilometres per hour, with a flight range of about 455 kilometres. It can carry 12 to 14 soldiers.

The two-blade semi-rigid tail rotor is equipped with a digital cockpit supporting night vision and increased horsepower for greater flexibility. It can remain airborne for 156 minutes.

President William Ruto together with the late General Francis Ogolla at Uhuru Gardens on December 12, 2023. /PCS

It gained prominence during the Vietnam War from November 1, 1955, to April 30, 1975, and a total of 16,000 were built ever since.

The Iranian military has 10 Bell 212 choppers while Bell Huey helicopters were handed to the Kenya Air Force in 2017 as part of the United States Embassy security cooperation programme in Africa.