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Federal agents are investigating whether a helicopter they have held for 14 months at an airport in Texas was earmarked for shipment to Iran.

Investigators are trying to determine why a U.S. Coast Guard C-130 airplane and a U.S. Marine Corps attack helicopter collided on Thursday night, likely killing nine crew members. Aircraft and ships are scouring the ocean off San Diego for any signs of survivors of the nighttime collision, but Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the crash likely killed both the plane's seven crew members and the two-person crew of the AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter.Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said the crash occurred minutes after control of the C-130 was handed off from FAA controllers to military air controllers.

BreakingNews San Diego media: 9 missing after collision of Coast Guard C-130 and Marine Cobra helicopter off the SD coast. BNO News working to confirm.

KABUL, Oct. 26, 2009 – Separate helicopter incidents today claimed the lives of 11 U.S. servicemembers and three U.S. civilians in Afghanistan, military officials reported. Officials of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said four U.S. servicemembers died when two ISAF helicopters apparently collided over southern Afghanistan, and seven U.S. servicemembers and three U.S. civilians were killed when their helicopter went down “due to unconfirmed reasons” in western Afghanistan. In addition to the four servicemembers killed in the apparent collision incident, two more were injured, officials said, adding that hostile fire is not believed to be a factor. In the...

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) - Fourteen Americans died in a pair of helicopter crashes in Afghanistan on Monday, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said. In the deadlier crash, a helicopter went down in the country's west. "Seven U.S. service members and three U.S. civilians were killed," an ISAF statement said. "Those injured include 14 Afghan service members, 11 U.S. service members and one U.S. civilian."

VIRGINIA BEACH One person was killed and eight others were injured when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed on a Navy ship during joint training with the Army. The services were doing "fast rope" exercises 20 nautical miles off Fort Story about 8 p.m. Thursday, sliding down a rope from helicopters and landing on the fast combat support ship Arctic, when one of the Army helicopters made a hard landing, said Capt. Cate Mueller, a Navy spokeswoman. It was unclear whether the injured were from the Navy, the Army or both. A Navy news release this morning says that members of...

AUSTRALIA'S military chiefs favour the US over Europe in a planned $4 billion naval combat helicopter buy that is generating high-level concern among senior government ministers and local defence industry leaders. In a classified submission sent to defence ministers John Faulkner and Greg Combet, the military chiefs have opted for the US Navy's MH-60R Seahawk as the best choice for the Royal Australian Navy's new rotary wing anti-submarine warfare platform. The military chiefs favour an early decision on the Sikorsky MH-60R, arguing that it represents a cheaper, risk-free solution for Australia compared with its competitor, the European NH90 naval frigate...

Air Force Maj. Jack Swinehart (left), 721st Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron UH-1H pilot, oversees an Iraqi pilot performing aerial formation flying procedures here, Oct. 8. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Johnny Saldivar, U.S. Air Forces Central, Baghdad Media Outreach Team. CAMP TAJI — U.S. Air Force pilots here train, advise and assist Iraqi helicopter pilots around the clock, helping the Iraqis to develop a capable Air Force to secure their country. Christopher Elam, Mi-17 instructor pilot, and Jack Swinehart, UH-1HP Huey Military Transition Team lead, both majors with the 721st Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron, fly side-by-side with Iraqi pilots, fine-tuning...

(IsraelNN.com) Muslim terrorists' newest nightmare? Steadicopter, an Israeli company, has developed an unmanned helicopter using patented technology that enables the chopper to stay stable while airborne. The new technology was on display at ISDEF 3 – the third annual Israel defense show, currently being held at Tel Aviv's fairgrounds. The developers said that the unmanned helicopter can be used wherever manned helicopters are currently used, for a smaller price and with no danger to human life, and also in place of unmanned fixed wing aircraft.

A fast-food restaurant in this western Ontario city served cheeseburgers to a Canadian Forces pilot Thursday — while his helicopter was parked outside. Michelle Patterson said Friday she thought something was wrong when she looked out one of the windows of the A&W restaurant. All she saw was flying dust. "I thought, 'Oh gee,' and I went over to the side of our building and there was a helicopter there with a police car," she said. Moments later, the helicopter pilot walks into the restaurant. "He said he was here to pick up some supper before taking off again," said...

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (Sept. 14, 2009) — The Missouri National Guard now has the capability and training to provide hoist extractions with some of its UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. Soldiers from Company C, 1st Battalion, 106th Assault Helicopter Battalion of Fort Leonard Wood and the Springfield-based 1107th Theater Aviation Sustainment Maintenance Group trained using hoists from Aug. 28 to 30 in Springfield. The hoists can be used to extract up to 600 pounds of personnel or cargo per lift into a Black Hawk during appropriate state or national emergencies. Possible uses are lifting stranded people off cars and rooftops...

<p>Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009 | 3:15 a.m.</p> <p>The U.S. military says a Blackhawk helicopter has crashed inn an American base in Iraq, killing 1 service member and wounding 12 others.</p> <p>The military says the helicopter went down Saturday night at the Balad Air Base, 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Baghdad. It says the cause of the crash is unknown and under investigation.</p>

Helmand Province, Afghanistan With the war increasing, Air Force Pararescue has been crisscrossing the skies picking up casualties. (excerpt) We are flying in a special U.S. Air Force Blackhawk helicopter to fetch a seriously ill British soldier. In Iraq, many of the casevacs were done by ground forces. In other words, if we hit a bomb or got shot, soldiers would load up the dead and wounded and rush them to the CSH (Combat Support Hospital or “cash”). But in Afghanistan most of the fighting occurs outside the cities and far away from the base hospitals. Rescue helicopters stationed at...

Prominent Indian Christian Politician Dies in Chopper Crash Thu, Sep. 03, 2009 Posted: 11:20 AM EDT Dr. Y.S Rajashekhara Reddy, Chief Minister of Indian state of Andhra Pradesh died in a helicopter crash along with four others on Wednesday while traveling from the state capital Hyderabad to Chittoor district. Under his leadership, the state had appealed to the federal government to amend the Indian Constitution to provide for granting the Scheduled Caste status to millions of Untouchable ‘Dalit’ Christians that will give them many benefits. The 60-year-old chief minister, popularly known as YSR, was going to Chittor for a mass...

Here is video of Somali Pirates firing a "Large Caliber Weapon" at a U.S. Navy Helicopter from the deck of a Taiwanese ship they have been holding hostage since April. More than 30 hostages are being held on board the ship. Fox News' John Scott talks with a Navy Spokesman for the 5th Fleet about the incident. . . . . (Watch Video)

A U.S. Navy helicopter conducting surveillance off the coast of Somalia was fired upon Wednesday by pirates aboard a Taiwanese-flagged vessel, where some 30 crewmembers are being held hostage, according to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. The Somali pirates fired what appeared to be a large-caliber weapon at the U.S. Navy SH-60B but didn’t strike it, according to the Navy. No one was injured in the incident and the crew did not return fire, the Navy said. The Taiwanese ship Win Far was seized April 6. Since then, it has been used as a "mother ship" for the launching of...

Unfortunately, He Forgot To Tell The School School officials at East Ridge High in Clermont, Florida, were less than thrilled that Bart Sutherin rented a helicopter to take his son to his first day of classes Monday.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Somali pirates holding a hijacked ship off the coast of Somalia fired at a U.S. Navy helicopter as it made a surveillance flight over the vessel, the first such attack by pirates on an American military aircraft, the Navy said Thursday.

A new high-tech helicopter that was designed to whisk U.S. President Barack Obama to safety in the event of a nuclear attack had a secret capability -- cooking. The helicopter, one of the world's most technologically advanced, was scrapped by the Pentagon for its high cost. Obama revealed on Monday it would have had an onboard kitchen. 'Among its other capabilities, it would let me cook a meal while under nuclear attack. I'll tell you something. If the United States of America is under nuclear attack, the last thing on my mind will be whipping up a snack,' he quipped...

Obtained by NBC news, this video shot by an Italian tourist shows the moment of impact between a Piper Saratoga and a Eurocopter over the Hudson River. The accident killed all nine aboard the two aircraft. >> WATCH <<

Taliban bring down Polish helicopter gunship 6th August 2009 Mi-24 helicopter shot down in Afghanistan, crew survive Gazeta Wyborcza reports that on July 31 an Mi-24 helicopter gunship which was on route from Kabul to the Ghazni province in Afghanistan with nine soldiers on board caught fire. "At around 5.30 pm flames started to come out of one of the engines. Then the second engine went off. The helicopter lost height. The lives of those on board were saved by the skills of the pilot," says the informer quoted by the daily. While the crew survived, the zł.30 million helicopter...

Here is Fox News video airing the first photos of the mid-air collision of a Helicopter and Airplane over New York City's Hudson River earlier today. Nine people in all are believed dead, including one child and five Italian tourists. Only two bodies have been recovered thus far. The video shows the photos of a family who captured the mid-air crash on their camera. The family talks about what they saw as their photos are shown. . . . . (Watch Video for Photos)

Here is a video report of the deadly helicopter/plane crash over the Hudson River in NY. Two bodies have been found but 9 are believed to be dead.....(Watch Video)

BAGHDAD — Thanks to a trio of American Airmen here, members of the Iraqi Air Force (IqAF) are learning to provide their own air power for their own missions. The three Airmen are part of the 721st Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron, whose mission is to "train, advise and assist" the Iraqis at the helicopter squadrons here. The Iraqi gunners' PKC machine guns are mounted to makeshift metal platforms, and the gunners are trained to defend their crew and cargo against threats. "The Iraqi gunners are as integral a part of the crew for their helicopter as we are for ours...

At least one helicopter has gone down in the Hudson River near 14th Street....Details remain sketchy, but there are reports that a small plane and a helicopter collided mid-air. There is a flurry of activity with Police, Fire and E.M.S. at the scene with reports that divers are in the water.

A civilian helicopter has crashed in southern Afghanistan, killing at least 16 civilians and injuring five, Nato officials have confirmed. The helicopter crashed at Kandahar airfield apparently as it was trying to take off, though Nato has ruled out the involvement of insurgents. Reports from Moscow say the helicopter was a Russian-built Mi-8. The crash is the second in a week. Six passengers died when a helicopter came down in Helmand province on Tuesday.

In this file photo, an Iraqi Navy Swift Boat is followed by two Iraqi Air Force MI-17 helicopters during a Naval Pass and Review for the Iraqi Minister of Defense, June 23, 2009. Two MI-17s recently returned from Amman, Jordan after undergoing modifications and upgrades critical to Iraqi Air Force operations. Photo by Capt. Tommy Avilucea, Multi-National Security Transition Command – Iraq. BAGHDAD — Two Iraqi Air Force (IqAF) MI-17 helicopters recently returned from Amman, Jordan after undergoing modifications and upgrades critical to IqAF operations.   The IqAF accomplished the helicopter upgrades by establishing a team with members from Jordan, Germany,...

State police have confirmed that the pilot of a state police helicopter that went down on a Santa Fe mountain has died. Sgt. Andy Tingwall perished as a result of the crash Tuesday night in which he and a state police office were trying to rescue a lost female hiker in rough weather, the officials said at a news conference Thursday. Earlier, authorities said that Megumi Yamamoto, a University of New Mexico physics graduate student from Tokyo, was found dead by rescuers. He said her family in Tokyo has been notified. The chopper went down after it had just rescued...

Note: The following text is a quote: Roseville Man Pleads Guilty to “Lasering” Police Helicopter SACRAMENTO, CA—Acting United States Attorney Lawrence G. Brown announced today that BALTAZAR VALLADARES, 30, of Roseville, pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge William B. Shubb to interference with the safe operation of an aircraft. This case is the product of a joint investigation by the Federal Air Marshals, the FBI, the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department, the Roseville Police Department, and the Sacramento Police Department. According to Assistant United States Attorney Matthew D. Segal, who is prosecuting the case, VALLADARES pleaded guilty to shining a...

Turkey, whose earlier request to buy US Cobra attack helicopters has so far been turned down on grounds that they are not available, is sending a military-led delegation to Russia today to further talks over the planned acquisition of at least 12 Mil Mi-28 “Havoc” attack helicopters as a stop gap measure in the fight against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Today's Zaman has learned. A Turkish military delegation's planned visit to Moscow, expected to start today, comes in the midst of calls made by Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ in Washington for the US administration...

Mi 24s role in eelam war IV emphasised by Shamindra Ferdinando The Hingurakgoda-based Mi 24 helicopter gunship squadron played a critical role in the recently concluded eelam war IV with nearly 400 missions in the Northern and Eastern theatres. Known as the No 09 squadron, it had caused devastating losses in coordinated attacks directed at fortified LTTE positions situated close to what Wing Commander Sampath Thuycontha, Commanding Officer of the squadron called forward location of own troops.’ In an interview with The Island, the veteran flyer said that despite having a range of weapons, including dedicated anti-aircraft guns the LTTE...

They pledged to leave no man behind, so for 43 years the mystery of what happened to Huey 808 has tortured veterans of the First Air Cavalry. The helicopter and its four-man crew failed to return from a routine mission in December 1965, soon after braving enemy fire at the battle of Ia Drang, America's first great clash of arms in Vietnam. Pilots spent months scouring the jungle looking for traces of a crash site, and for years afterwards, comrades of the lost crew made trips to the steamy hill villages of the Central Highlands looking for clues to what...

An Army helicopter on a training exercise crashed this afternoon at Wheeler Army Airfield at Schofield Barracks, and there are initial reports of multiple injuries. Honolulu Fire Department Capt. Earle Kealoha said firefighters responded to a call of a downed aircraft at 3:34 p.m. But when they arrived four minutes later, federal fire crews already had the fire under control. The airfield houses helicopters assigned to both 25th Infantry Division and the Hawaii Army National Guard. The Federal Aviation Administration said initial reports indicate that the crash involved a military helicopter. An Army spokesman confirmed that the aircraft was a...

The Coast Guard says a Navy helicopter with five people aboard has crashed into the ocean 13 miles south of San Diego near the Coronado Islands. More Navy Copter Down (from AP) Prayers up.prisoner6

A Miramar based AH-1 Cobra went down near Pine Valley, between San Diego and El Centro. Both crewmembers have died. Recovery is hampered by exploding ordnance and the remote terrain.

French army seeks Tiger enhancements for Afghan debut By Craig Hoyle The French army is conducting a series of urgent modifications to its Eurocopter Tiger HAP attack helicopters, in advance of receiving an order to deploy the type operationally for the first time, to Afghanistan. "We are waiting for formal initial operational capability status, and for a decision from the Joint Staff to deploy," says Lt Col Jean-Baptiste Pouret, the army's Tiger programme manager. Enhancements to be made ahead of a combat deployment include the addition of improved air particle separators, rotor blade protection and secure communications equipment. The aircraft...

The first flying hotel, Hotelicopter, is now ready, SBCC Company announced. The hotel was built on the base of the Mi-12 chopper, which is the largest helicopter in the world. The construction took five years.

I'm tempted to think of a door hitting b. Hussein in the ass, but, in this case, it's more like him hitting the bulkhead in a submarine. (Would it actually knock some sense into him?) Or maybe he's still just too giddy over having his Rolls Royce helicopter. (Vid of b. Hussein hitting his head as he enters "his" helicopter.)

Crashed helicopter found on sea floor, recovery planned RCMP name 12 of 17 killed in crash off Newfoundland's east coast Last Updated: Sunday, March 15, 2009 | 12:04 AM NT Comments130Recommend269 CBC News The Transportation Safety Board has confirmed the location of an oil industry helicopter that crashed into the Atlantic southeast of Newfoundland on Thursday, killing 17 of 18 people on board, while authorities identified many of the dead. "It looks like the fuselage is relatively intact," lead investigator Mike Cunningham told CBC News on Saturday afternoon after an underwater remote-operated vehicle confirmed the location of a Cougar Helicopters...

[image] excerpt: The Federal Aviation Administration revoked David Keith Martz’ pilot license this week. Martz got the FAA’s attention when they saw an online video in which Martz had sex with porn star Puma Swede while flying his helicopter over San Diego. The FAA investigated after the videotaped sexcapade was made available online.....

A Pennsylvania company that monitors peer-to-peer file-sharing networks discovered a potentially serious security breach involving President Obama's helicopter, Marine One, NBC affiliate WPXI in Pittsburgh reported. Sensitive information about Marine One was reportedly found by Tiversa employees at an IP address in Tehran. Tiversa CEO Bob Boback said a defense contractor in Bethesda, Md., had a file sharing program on one of their systems that contained highly sensitive blueprints for Marine One and financial information about the cost of the helicopter.

PITTSBURGH -- Target 11 has learned a Cranberry company that monitors peer-to-peer file-sharing networks discovered what it said is a potentially serious security breach involving President Barack Obama’s helicopter. Tiversa employees found engineering and communications information about Marine One at an IP address in Tehran, Iran. Bob Boback, CEO of Tiversa, said, ”We found a file containing entire blueprints and avionics package for Marine One,which is the president's helicopter." The company was able to trace the file back to its original source. "What appears to be a defense contractor in Bethesda, MD had a file sharing program on one of...

Polish military helicopter crashes; pilot killed The Associated Press Published: February 28, 2009 WARSAW, Poland: Polish authorities say a military helicopter has crashed and one of the pilots was killed. The Defense Ministry says another pilot and a solder were also aboard the Mi-24 but survived. It said in a statement Saturday that Defense Minister Bogdan Klich has ordered an investigation to determine the cause of the crash, which occurred late Friday near the northern Polish town of Inowroclaw. The ministry identified the pilot who died as 1st Lt. Robert Wagner, 32.

Here is video of Sen. John McCain yesterday raising the issue of President Obama's fleet of new helicopters that will cost $11.2 Billion if implemented as planned. McCain had taken part in Obama's "Fiscal Responsibility Summit," and had been in the "procurement" small group, so he raised the helicopter issue as an example of over-spending. Obama responded with humor, saying the helicopter he has now "seems adequate," although, he said, "I never had a helicopter before." Obama indicated he has asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates to look into the matter. . . . . (Watch Video)

Suffice to say, President Barack Obama likes his new ride. Before taking off yesterday on Air Force One for his first trip as president, Obama told reporters traveling with him that the plane is "spiffy" and showed off his new crew jacket with his name stitched on it. "What do you think of this spiffy ride here? It's not bad," he said to reporters sitting in the back on the plane.

Tommy Lee's helicopter pilot detained for DUI Sunday, February 1, 2009 Rocker Tommy Lee's helicopter pilot has been detained on suspicion of DUI after flying too close to a police helicopter and ignoring direction from a flight tower. Los Angeles police spokeswoman Officer Karen Smith says a helicopter buzzed the police chopper near Van Nuys Sunday morning. Smith says the pilot then failed to follow directions given to him by the Van Nuys Airport flight tower. The pilot was released without arrest after a field sobriety test and investigation. Smith says the matter now falls to the Federal Aviation Administration...

KABUL: An Afghan army helicopter crashed yesterday, killing a senior Afghan general and 12 other men. The helicopter came down in poor weather in western Afghanistan in the worst crash for the fledgling army that began forming after the Taliban regime was toppled in a US-led invasion in late 2001. It had been carrying a delegation of senior Afghan National Army officers, including the commander of Zafar military corps, General Fazel Ahmad Sayar, from the western city of Herat to an army base in adjoining Farah province, defence officials said. The helicopter hit a mountain peak in dense fog, the...

A US Black Hawk helicopter was forced to crash land outside the Afghan capital Friday but all seven US crew and passengers on board were safely evacuated, the US military said. The incident came one day after an Afghan army helicopter crashed in the west of the country, killing a senior general and 12 other members of the Afghan National Army. Thursday's accident was believed to have been caused by poor weather which may also have played a part in Friday's crash-landing of the Black Hawk, officials said. SNIP

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) ― One person was killed and four others injured when an Army Blackhawk helicopter on a field training exercise crashed Monday into a field on the campus of Texas A&M University. The helicopter crashed at about 3:30 p.m. near the Corps of Cadets field on the school's College Station campus, about 100 miles northwest of Houston. A crew of four and an Army lieutenant assigned to the school's ROTC unit were the only ones aboard the BlaOne person was killed and four others injured when an Army Black Hawk helicopter on a field training exercise crashed...

OWEGO, N.Y. -- The latest incarnation of the presidential helicopter touched down here Friday. And though it may not resemble the Marine One we know so well, it just needs a little time. "We're going to integrate a series of mission equipment, communications equipment, paint it, put in the interior and begin the flight test afterwards at our facility in Maryland," said Kevin Westfall, the VH-71's business operations director. Meet the VH-71, part of a new fleet of nearly 30 presidential helicopters that will be added to the Marine One Squadron over the next decade. Lockheed-Martin won the systems integration...