Iranian President Raisi's Late Helicopter Reported Excess Passenger Load During Accident

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei leads the funeral prayer of the late President Raisi and all the dead victims of the helicopter crash. (Source: IRNA)

JAKARTA - The helicopter carrying the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi reportedly suffered an overload of passengers, before experiencing a fatal accident due to weather, Iran's semi-official news agency reported, citing security sources informed of the final results of the investigation.

"Investigation in the case of the Ayatollah Raisi helicopter crash has been completed. There is full certainty that what happened was an accident," an unnamed security source told Fars.

Two reasons for the accident have been identified: unfavorable weather conditions and helicopters were unable to withstand the load, causing it to hit the mountain, the source added, according to Fars.

The investigation showed that the helicopter was carrying two more people than the capacity permitted by the security protocol, the source told Fars.

"The helicopter carrying the president carried two more people than allowed by safety protocols, so when the pilot realized the fog and tried to get the helicopter to the required altitude, the helicopter had no power to do so and, under limited visibility due to fog, a collision with the mountain occurred," the source said, quoted from TASS.

Further explained, intelligence agencies conducted checks on at least 30,000 people after President Raisi's death, concluding that human factors were not to blame, according to the source.

He said the departure time had been set previously, based on data from weather agencies. However, the president's visit to the border with Azerbaijan exceeded the time limit, so that by the time of departure the weather had deteriorated.

No GPS system is installed on the helicopter in accordance with security requirements, the source said. That means the possibility of hacking the aircraft's electronic system and any attempt to damage it is ruled out.

The investigation also found no evidence of chemicals or harmful substances that could cause the helicopter to fall.

Responding to the news agency's claim, citing from a "security source", the communications center of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which is responsible for publishing information on the investigation of the accident, announced that what was stated in the report was deviant and false, quoted from Mehr.

On May 19, a helicopter carrying Raisi and other Iranian officials crashed in northern Iran. All passengers and crew were killed.

In addition to killing President Raisi, Dizmar's accident, which is located between the cities of Varzaqan and Jolfa in East Azerbaijan Province, also killed Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, East Azerbaijan Governor Michel Rahmati, Tabriz Seyyed City Friday prayer imam Mohammad Ali Al-e Hashem, and a member of the presidential escort team Mahdi Mousavi.

President Raeisi and the accompanying delegation returned from the dam inauguration ceremony on the Aras River with President Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.