How did Iran's president end up on half-century-old US-made helicopter?

Iranian president's helicopter that crashed on Sunday in inclement weather turned out to have been a well-known Vietnam-era war relic — or at least its civilian counterpart.

The US-made Bell 212 carrying President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and several members of their entourage is a refitted non-combat version of the omnipresent UH-1N "Twin Huey," which is still widely used globally.

Despite its proven longevity, questions arose over whether it was fit for purpose, while the fact that the Tehran regime has been under Western sanctions for decades might indicate that proper maintenance of the chopper was uncertain.

After the crash, experts pointed out that the nearly 50-year-old Bell 212 was built to fly in visual flight conditions, meaning that the pilot had to rely solely on their ability to observe the terrain from their seat.

Heavy fog and a brewing storm on Sunday likely impeded the pilot and might have contributed to the crash in northwestern Iran, some 20 kilometres from the border with Azerbaijan.

The heavily forested area is known for its steep mountain slopes, further complicating the rescue, which ultimately involved Turkish drones and an EU observational satellite.

Iranian officials said the other two helicopters in the three-copter presidential convoy had landed safely. It is unclear if and how badly they were affected by harsh flight conditions, while the lack of information from Tehran means the details of the accident are still shrouded in mystery.

The Bell 212, said to have been operated by the Red Crescent Society of the Islamic Republic of Iran by local media, was likely purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iran's Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was known for his love of