The Iranian military has denied the claims made by the “Fars” news agency regarding the causes of the helicopter crash that killed former President Ebrahim Raisi. The Iranian General Staff’s Public Relations Office stated on Wednesday that the report by “Fars,” which attributed the crash to the helicopter carrying two extra passengers against safety protocols, thus lacking the power to reach the required altitude, is false, according to the Russian news agency “TASS”.
The Iranian investigation into the May crash that killed Raisi concluded that the accident was due to bad weather and overloading, as previously reported by “Fars” news agency on Wednesday, quoting an official. A security source familiar with the investigation’s conclusions stated that the Iranian security forces are absolutely certain that the incident was an accident. The security and intelligence agencies have completed their detailed investigations and are also certain it was an accident, according to “Fars”. The agency also reported that the regulatory and security institutions have completed their examination of Raisi’s helicopter crash case.
The main reason for the crash on May 19 was bad weather and the helicopter’s inability to fly at a higher altitude due to the number of passengers exceeding what the security protocols allow. The investigation found that the helicopter was carrying two extra passengers beyond the recommended load at the time of the crash, according to AFP. The helicopter, carrying 63-year-old Raisi and his aides, crashed in a mountainous area in northern Iran amid dense fog. The crash resulted in the deaths of Raisi and seven others, including Foreign Minister Hussein Amir Abdollahian, while the military stated that it found no evidence of “criminal act” related to the helicopter crash. The incident prompted early elections.
