Posted on 07/03/2007 5:43:22 AM PDT by RDTF
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Insurgents shot down a U.S. military helicopter south of Baghdad, and the two pilots were rescued with minor injuries, the military said Tuesday.
The OH-58D Kiowa Attack helicopter was brougt down by ground fire on Monday. After an Apache helicopter rescued the two pilots, a U.S. warplane dropped two 500-pound, laser-guided bombs on the downed craft to destroy it, the military said in a statement.
It gave no further details on the location of the crash and said the incident was under investigation.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
that makes sense
So why didnt they drop the 2- 500 lb. bombs on the insurgents who brought down the chopper.
Actually, it's not in the Apache but on it. They hook themselves on and ride on the outside.
Maybe because they have already fled or went into hiding?
That’s the problem with terrorists...
Wow...I imagine you have to pay extra for that kind of a thrill ride.
Two ways:
1. Attach the pilot’s rescue harness to the landing gear.
2. Open the maintenance doors and have the pilots ride on those.
Both methods have been used in Iraq and Afghanistan by the US and the Brits (who also use the AH-64D).
It’s actually not as hair-raising as it sounds. Most helicopter crewmembers have spent their share of time outside in the slipstream. I sure did.
cool!
that’s a really great shot - looks like the photog used a high quality Digital SLR
Oh, wow, I wouldn’t want to sit directly in front of those turbines like that......of course, if was a question of my ears or my hide, I think I’d choose to give up my ears.
And those of us with our airborne wings just left the vehicle entirely ;)
I thought OH stood for observation helicopter and AH for attack helicopter.
At the height of the battle an Apache attack helicopter was ordered to evacuate a critically wounded Soldier, a separate statement said.
A co-pilot "helped load the injured Soldier into the front seat without further injury," it said.
"Despite the heavy small arms fire and surface-to-air fire events in the area, the co-pilot/gunner strapped himself on to the left side of the aircraft and hunkered down on the wing" outside the narrow fuselage.
The Soldier was flown to a nearby U.S. base -- in what a U.S. marines spokesman described as "an amazing act of heroism" -- and is now in stable condition, the statement said.
This happened during a major battle in the Anbar Province that resulted in the killing of 23 terrorists and the securing of a large amount of munitions.
You can fit another guy in each seat, facing backwards.
It’s awful cozy, but we were trained to do it.
That, and Kiwa guys are teeny-tiny. ;-)
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