Al Arabiya.net, 6 December 2016 – A pilot and his assistant were killed in Iran on Tuesday when a rescue helicopter carrying eight people on a training crashed in a lake in Chittoor, northwest of the capital Tehran, according to state media.
According to Iranian media, the 205-helicopter belongs to Iranian Helicopter Support and Renewal Company that works under the Iranian Ministry of Defense. It crashed at 11:30 (local time) due to a technical problem.
IRGC affiliated Fars News agency quoted a spokesman for the Emergency Center, saying that “the pilot and his assistant died while they were dispatched to the hospital, while the others are still being treated.”
The incident occurred five days after a crash involving a reconnaissance aircraft belonging to the Revolutionary Guard, which was on a military mission in Baluchistan province, southeast of the country, engendering the death of its pilot.
Helicopter incidents have been increasing in Iran over recent years – in May, a MiG-29 fighter jet crashed and its pilot Roozbeh Nazarian was killed in Hamadan province, western Iran.
In the same context, an F7-helicopter crashed during a training flight on April 27, but the pilot and his assistant were able to jump off before its collision.
Another Iranian military aircraft, which was an F4 helicopter, crashed in January due to a technical problem, near the city of Chabahar, leading to the death of the pilot and his assistant.
Iran is facing difficulties in the renewal process of its air force, due to the imposed sanctions provoked by its controversial nuclear program over the past years, as well as the new sanctions caused by its armament and missile programs.