IIRC, some attack helicopter (MI-24 "Hind"?) had its bottom made of stamped titanium. Maybe, this feature could be used on the Apaches, too.
Don't they read the news? Shoulder fired missiles from our pals in Russia.
Bad weather, low & slow over a combat zone...with over 1,000,000 flt. hours since 2003 in Iraqi airspace the safety record with helo's isn't way out of the norm.
First thing I thought was manpads from Iran.
Nothing released on the latest incidents, although, I suspect low and slow or hover profile when the situation demanded high energy tactics to avoid small arms and RPG fire. We'll see...
What's to look at?
The helo's are each at least one of the following:
Old,
Poorly designed for maintenance considerations,
Under supported for the necessary depot level maintenance,
Don't receive the necessary inspections and maintenance at the proper intervals.
Please note: the maintenance crews do the best they can with what they have....just remember that there's nothing sexy about funding spares and maintenance, and the services have ALWAYS suffered in these areas.
It just has a more lethal impact during war.