Iran's only AWACS jet crashes -- on Khomeini's grave

On Tuesday, as Iranian president declared that Iran's armed forces would "chop off the hands" of any power daring to attack his country, two air force jets collided in mid-air. One was Iran's only airborne warning and control system (AWACS) for coordinating long-distance aerial operations, DEBKAfile reported.

The military parade, which included a convoy of Shehab-3 missiles emblazoned with a sign that said "Down With Israel" and an air force fly-past, was intended to give Ahmadinejad a send-off for New York and strengthen his UN Assembly speech Wednesday.

Dubbed "Simorgh" (a flying creature of Iranian fable which performs wonders in mid-flight), the AWACS' appearance, escorted by fighter jets, was to have been the climax for the Iranian Air force's fly-past over the parade. Instead, it collided with one of escorting planes, a US-made F-5E, and both crashed to the ground in flames. All seven crewmen were killed, Debka reported.

Eye witnesses reported that the flaming planes actually landed on the mausoleum burial site of the Islamic revolution's founder Ayatolla Ruhollah Khomeini, a national shrine. According to Western observers, no distress signals came from either cockpit indicating that the collision and explosions were sudden and fast.

The loss of this airborne control system has left Iran's air force and air and missile defenses without "electronic eyes" for surveillance of the skies around its borders.

Tags: AWACS, Ahmadinejad, Iran, Iranian threat

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Comment by Campbell Randt on October 2, 2009 at 2:13am: Robert, although I am completely secular, I would certainly NOT exclude the "hand of G_d" from the equation.

Nonetheless, the hands of some incompetent Iranians seem to me the most likely suspects.

Here's why :

AWACS aircraft are highly specialized, and constructed to excel at a relatively narrow but vital range of functions. Those functions do NOT include aerial acrobatics performed for entertainment value in conjunction / formation with very different kinds of aircraft such as, in this case, the F-5E.

The Iranians concocted what might be called an "unholy" admixture, in an unspeakably foolish effort at grandstanding : attempting to produce the (presumably mid-to-low altitude) rendition of the mythical "Simorgh," described as "a flying creature of Iranian fable which performs wonders in mid-flight."

Under the totality of circumstances (which included Iran's only airworthy AWACS craft), such false bravado and counterfeit bluster are sheer idiocy.

~ Campbell Randt

Comment by robert aragon on October 2, 2009 at 1:10am: The hand of G-D? (Yes,I believe, totally)

Comment by Benyamin on September 27, 2009 at 5:17pm: So why didn't this piece of good news make the papers? Only bad thing is it didn't crash on Amadmandinnywhackoff.

Comment by david singer on September 27, 2009 at 9:15am: You can post it here. A bit of light humour won't hurt.

Comment by Campbell Randt on September 27, 2009 at 8:03am: David, that reminds me of a funny story, . . . which I would post, . . . IF we at ISRAEL INSIDER had a section for topics devoted to HUMOUR / SATIRE / PARODY. . . ! ! !

Story concerns a certain character called "Anti-Semitic George" who has a problem with hemorrhoids which he blames on "The JEWS."

Titled "Anti-Semitic George and His Proctologist," the story entails Anti-Semitic George's consultation with his personal physician about George's particular "problem."

Comment by david singer on September 27, 2009 at 5:20am: For sure it was the Zionists what did it. Ask Ahmedinejad.

Comment by Joseph Allan Neubarth on September 27, 2009 at 5:06am: Whatever is necessary to ensure the safety of Israel. God provides assurance that the enemy of His chosen people shall not triumph in their wicked ways.

Comment by Mary Hale on September 27, 2009 at 2:03am: Psalm chapter 2
Why do the nations rage and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away their cords from us." He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision..
The fact that the Iranian dictator has continuously lashed out against Israel and the west, he will come to nothing and will lose in the end..Two planes crashing in midair in a farewell excersise sending Abinaminajad off to the UN to lash out again against the west and Israel, the fiery debris landed on the tomb and mausaleum of the Ayatolla Khomeini, founder of the Islamic revolution..

Comment by Campbell Randt on September 26, 2009 at 4:21pm: An omen, perhaps . . . ! ! !

Seriously, . . . IF the Iranians can do no better in the relative calm of an air force fly-past during a parade, . . . THEN one wonders about their capabilities across the fields of destruction in a shooting war.

Moreover, IF Iran had "only (one) airborne warning and control system (AWACS) for coordinating long-distance aerial operations," . . . THEN it would seem like an exercise in quintessential incompetence to allocate such a rare and valuable resource to a conspicuous display designed "to give Ahmadinejad a send-off for New York and strengthen his UN Assembly speech."