Abbas Babaei
| Abbas Babaei | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
5 December 1950 Qazvin, Iran |
| Died | 6 August 1987 (aged 36) Sardasht, Iran |
| Allegiance |
 Iran
|
| Service/branch |
 Air Force
|
| Years of service | 1969–1987 |
| Rank |
 Major-general
|
| Battles/wars | Iran–Iraq War † |
| Awards |
 2nd grade Fath Medal
|
| Spouse(s) | Maliheh Hekmat |
Abbas Babaei (Persian: عباس بابایی) (5 December 1950 – 6 August 1987) was an Iranian pilot and Major General in the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force, during the Iran-Iraq War. He was killed in 1987.
He was born in a middle class religious family in Qazvin in 1950. Babaei was a student at Dehkhoda primary school and graduated from Nezam Vafa high school. After graduating in 1969 he moved to the United States to become a fighter pilot. During his studies in the United States he was chosen as the volleyball captain of the airbase volleyball team.
After returning to Iran following flight training, he became a pilot of Northrop F-5 and trained on the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II and Grumman F-14 Tomcat. Upon returning to Iran he married his cousin Maliheh and moved to Dezful in Khuzestan Province where he was given a house by the Iranian Air Force. He had three children, a daughter, Salma, and two sons, Hossein and Mohammad.
He became the commander of 8th Tactical Airbase in 1981. Aviation journalist and Iran-Iraq air war expert Tom Cooper reports that Babaei was "notorious for his merciless treatment of the pilots and officers" considered disloyal to the new regime. Cooper's research indicates:
General Abbas Babaei was killed on August 6, 1987, while in the rear seat of a F-5B while over Iraqi air space. He was hit by a 23mm round of an air defence system on Sardasht air space, a city located in Kurdistan, Iran. It turned out Iranians' defence system, operated by Sepah, had hit Babaei's aircraft in error. The pilot, Maj. Ali Mohammad Naderi managed to land the jet, but Babaei died within 10 minutes. Sepah used the ZSU-23 self-propelled, radar guided anti-aircraft weapon system (SPAAG) at the time.
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