February 08, 2007

Sixth Downed Chopper (Images/Video)

It has been reported today that a sixth chopper was downed in Iraq on Jan 31st. The Sea Knight transport made a landing and the crew were evacuated by a second Sea Knight.

Via ABC News: BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A helicopter operated by a private security firm came down in Iraq last week, U.S. officials said on Thursday, an incident that marks the sixth downing of a helicopter in three weeks.

Reports of the January 31 incident, in which no one was killed, come a day after seven crew members and passengers aboard a U.S. Marine helicopter were killed when it crashed near Baghdad, possibly after being hit by ground fire.

The U.S. military, concerned that militants have changed tactics or are using more sophisticated weapons, has said it is adjusting its tactics.

One U.S. military official told Reuters he had heard reports that the private security helicopter came down under fire.

"It did not crash, it made a hard landing. They were able to get all crew and equipment out," the official said.

I have extracted the chopper clip from a much larger Jihadi video. Both are available on request.

It is unclear if the chopper had mechanical problems or was forced down by enemy fire. It looks like a textbook extraction. Sorry to disappoint Kos, but not one of the security contractors on board were hurt in either the forced landing or the rescue.

Update: Google is done... Video added below the fold.

Update: More here via NYT:

Two American officials said the previously unreported downing of the private helicopter supporting State Department operations last week came after it was subjected to a hail of gunfire from the ground. One official described the gunfire as heavy caliber and said that after the helicopter crash-landed a second aircraft set down and evacuated the stranded passengers and crew. But the official said that as a quick reaction force rushed to the crash scene, the force was struck by at least one large roadside bomb and suffered several casualties. The force withdrew from the site, and American officials decided to destroy the aircraft rather than risk it falling into insurgent hands.

Note in the vid the first chopper is shown making it's "hard" landing. It's not hard at all. It's a smooth controlled landing. The pilot landed before any problems became unmanagable. Also note that no large explosion occurs during the destruction so they were able to dump and use up most of the remaining fuel.