What we know about the crashed helicopter carrying Iran’s president
The helicopter that crashed in Iran, killing the president and foreign minister, was a Bell 212 model. Bell developed the aircraft in the late 1960s for the Canadian military, and it is used globally for various purposes. The Bell 212 can carry passengers, cargo, and mount weapons. Non-military organizations and countries like Japan, the United States, and Thailand operate the Bell 212. Iran’s current fleet includes Italian-built naval versions of the helicopter. The most recent fatal crash involving a Bell 212 was in 2023 off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. Iran has managed to keep its aviation fleets flying through a combination of smuggled parts and reverse-engineering. The accident does not automatically fall under global rules for air accident probes, and it is unlikely that Iran will seek outside help for the investigation.
