Iran just lost the butcher of Tehran in a helicopter crash.
Looks like a Kobe Bryant deal to me.
This is the Occam's razor answer, at present, for what probably happened.
But, by all means; Go for conspiracy theory.
Those will be great fun.
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Please, let us not diminish the hard work, courage and sacrifice of Mossad agent Eli Kopter, may his memory be a blessing.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like this was actually just an accident caused primarily by bad weather conditions in rough terrain. Of course it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Sadly, it will probably not change much in Iran. The people who died will just be replaced by more of the same.
ReplyDelete-swj
Explaining this is going to be a PR dilemma. If they blame Israel they establish the Mossad as capable of slapping a helicopter out of the sky at will. If they say it was the will of Allah then people start asking awkward questions about the wisdom of flying in bad weather over rough terrain and how well maintained was,that helicopter?
ReplyDeleteI think if there were any credible evidence that Israel was responsible that Iran would not have the self restraint to not be immediately responding with retaliatory attacks.
DeleteI think they should be asking about whether putting two high level officials on the same chopper and flying in rain and dense fog through mountainous territory. And yeah, from what I'm reading it sounds like that chopper likely predates the 1979 Islamic Revolution, meaning it was probably close to 50 years old and possibly up to 55 years old. And given it was US made and we've embargoed Iran for most of that time might very reasonably lead you to question it's flight worthiness for transporting such valuable passengers.
I've read since then that apparently Iran bought the helicopter used on the grey market and it was less than 10 years old. That still doesn't mean it was properly maintained, especially since any replacement parts would have to also come through grey market channels due to the embargo. But still, it seems less likely it was an equipment failure due to maintenance.
DeleteThat makes it more likely in my opinion that it was more strongly related to bad weather and rough terrain. Lots of famous people have died under similar circumstances. As much more time as it takes, perhaps going by car might be a better idea than flying in poor conditions.
And for sure, having two high level government officals on the same aircraft in retrospect probably doesn't seem to them like such a good idea any more. It would be interesting to know if they change their policies.
Of course given who we are talking about, one would hope they don't learn anything from this at all. Maybe next time the Ayatolah could be on board.
-swj
Wait, serious assessments? I thought we were having fun with conspiracy theories. Even if you don't think the one I posted was all that funny by itself, you have to admit the reaction it provoked was pretty damn hilarious.
ReplyDelete