Tue 31 May 2011
Military helicopter belonging to Iran's Air Force crashed near the central city of Isfahan.
A military helicopter belonging to Iran's Air Force has crashed near the central city of Isfahan, killing the pilot and co-pilot, a senior Iranian official says.
“The Cobra 209 helicopter belonged to the Shahid Vatanpour training base,” Deputy Governor of Isfahan Mohammad Mehdi Esmaili said on Monday.
Esmaili said the crash was caused by technical problems in the helicopter.
No further details have been reported about the incident.
Iran has suffered a number of aviation disasters over the past decade due to its aging air fleet.
In April, an Iranian Army aircraft crashed near the southern city of Sarvestan in Fars Province while on a training mission, killing the pilot and injuring the co-pilot.
The sanctions imposed against the country by the UN Security Council and the US prevent Iran from updating its aerial fleet, and make it difficult to obtain European spare parts for planes.
In January, at least 77 people were killed and 27 others were injured when an Iranian passenger plane crashed near the northwestern city of Orumiyeh.