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Military helicopter shot at over Virginia, injuring a crew member
CNN ^ | 8-12-20 | Barbara Starr and Zachary Cohen,

Posted on 08/12/2020 12:44:57 PM PDT by SJackson

A US Air Force helicopter was shot at near Manassas, Virginia, on Monday, injuring one of two pilots on board, according to an Air Force official.

The UH-1N was flying 10 miles northwest of Manassas on a routine training mission at an altitude of 1,000 feet when the incident occurred. It landed safely at Manassas Regional Airport west of Washington, DC, and the pilot was taken to hospital where they were treated and released, the official said.

The incident is now under FBI and Air Force investigation to determine if the helicopter was deliberately shot at or if someone was randomly shooting into the air. The aircraft will be closely inspected for other damage, the official added.

The airport operations officer Richard Allabaugh reported its air traffic control tower was notified of an "an onboard emergency on a military helicopter that was inbound."

The pilots of the US Air Force helicopter, which identified itself as Mussel 16, can be heard reporting "a medical emergency" in air traffic control audio. The aircraft initially scrapped plans to land at Manassas Regional Airport then informed controllers it would be heading "direct to Manassas."

Paramedics were called to the airport.

The US Air Force 316th wing only confirmed an incident occurred and that the helicopter made an emergency landing on Monday.

"A UH-1N Huey helicopter assigned to the 1st Helicopter Squadron at Joint Base Andrews conducted an emergency landing at 12:43 pm on August 10th in Manassas, Va during a routine training mission," the statement read.

"The Office of Special Investigations is fully engaged with our FBI colleagues on this incident. OSI take threats to our Airmen and our resources very seriously. As this is an ongoing investigation, no further investigative details can be released at this time," it added.

(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: aviation; banglist; didyousearch; virginia
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To: I want the USA back

NoVa is lousy with all three.

Return fire.

Investigate later.


21 posted on 08/12/2020 1:10:26 PM PDT by Salamander (Flying Colours....)
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To: b4its2late
Probably one of the last 2 in that list.

NoVA is a hotbed of Islamist activity too.


22 posted on 08/12/2020 1:11:07 PM PDT by Buckeye McFrog (Patrick Henry would have been an anti-vaxxer.)
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To: SJackson

Flying over a clandestine pot farm?


23 posted on 08/12/2020 1:11:12 PM PDT by I-ambush (One foot in the grave, one foot on the pedal I was born to rebel. Ppl)
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To: PUGACHEV

It seems to be that it would be very hard target to hit, but I would defer to an expert on this one. I am certain that someone on FR can authoritatively answer this question.


24 posted on 08/12/2020 1:13:10 PM PDT by beef (Use a VPN, use Tor, and get a shortwave radio. Oh, and ACAB- All Commies Are Bastards)
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To: I want the USA back
Muzzies, blm, or antifa?

or all three - dem socialist?

25 posted on 08/12/2020 1:17:10 PM PDT by The Sons of Liberty (Until I see them breaking rocks in the hot sun I'll be cleaning my guns!)
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To: SJackson

Maybe it was CSA engaging antiaircraft fire? ... Oh, wait, that would be the Democrat party, KKK, BLM, Antifa. Or...as other posters suggested, an islamofascist training camp.


26 posted on 08/12/2020 1:24:42 PM PDT by captain_dave
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To: SJackson

Thought that pilot and cabin ground facing portion area was armor protected to prevent any smaller calibers like 30’s bullets penetrating that area. If not they should be. Report didn’t disclose bullet size.


27 posted on 08/12/2020 1:24:54 PM PDT by mosesdapoet (mosesdapoet aka L.J.Keslin posting here for the record hoping somebody might read and pass around)
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To: SJackson

Not too far from Dulles airport???


28 posted on 08/12/2020 1:26:02 PM PDT by FroggyTheGremlim (Hiya kids, hiya, hiya!)
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To: I want the USA back
Muzzies, blm, or antifa?

To this dirtbag mix, I would add MS-13 or other Hispanic gang-banger types. No shortage of such folks in NoVa. And a cultural affinity for shooting into the air.

29 posted on 08/12/2020 1:27:33 PM PDT by Dagnabitt
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To: PUGACHEV
The chances of hitting a moving helicopter at 1K ft. even with a semiautomatic rifle must be very, very small. Given those unlikely odds, it is just as possible that this was a random shot fired into the air, or a shot fired at something else, and the helicopter was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Hard to imagine many random rifle shots into the air in the afternoon around Manassas, though it's possible. It's not that unusual for helicopters to take small arms fire, particularly if delivered by a trained rifleman. But both you'd think would be very unlikely outside of a combat zone.

30 posted on 08/12/2020 1:27:38 PM PDT by SJackson (wondered...what 10 Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through..Congress, RR)
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To: SJackson

gonna wait until the Soros-directed AG releases the perps??
again??

Soros has had so many wins on his birthday today.

Probably linked to this shooter, too.


31 posted on 08/12/2020 1:29:01 PM PDT by Diogenesis ("when a crime is unpunished, the world is unbalanced")
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To: mosesdapoet

I did too, but there’s a window, and we don’t know the caliber. If this was deliberate, could be a .50. Terrorists have financing


32 posted on 08/12/2020 1:32:01 PM PDT by SJackson (wondered...what 10 Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through..Congress, RR)
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To: SJackson
GET SOME
33 posted on 08/12/2020 1:36:05 PM PDT by 11th_VA (May you live in interesting times - Ancient Chinese Proverb)
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To: PUGACHEV
The chances of hitting a moving helicopter at 1K ft. even with a semiautomatic rifle must be very, very small. Given those unlikely odds, it is just as possible that this was a random shot fired into the air, or a shot fired at something else, and the helicopter was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Golden BB.

34 posted on 08/12/2020 1:37:19 PM PDT by IYAS9YAS (There are two kinds of people: Those who can extrapolate from incomplete data.)
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To: SJackson

i don’t know how they will do it, but they will likely find
out who did this. When they do and have proven it, I hope
they make their life a living hell for as many years as they
have left.


35 posted on 08/12/2020 1:43:23 PM PDT by DoughtyOne (Some of the folks around these parts have been sniffing super flu.)
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To: mosesdapoet
Thought that pilot and cabin ground facing portion area was armor protected to prevent any smaller calibers like 30’s bullets penetrating that area.

1st Helicopter Squadron at Andrews AF Base spends its days helping government VIPs make their tee times, err, efficiently transact the people's business.

They do not land at many hot LZs (although that may be changing) and are probably equipped for passenger comfort, not protection from small arms fire.

36 posted on 08/12/2020 1:50:41 PM PDT by Pilsner
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To: PUGACHEV

The Viet Cong got pretty good at wing shooting Hueys back in the day.


37 posted on 08/12/2020 2:00:40 PM PDT by Jimmy Valentine (DemocRATS - when they speak, they lie; when they are silent, they are stealing the American Dream)
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To: SJackson

I hope he was sitting on his helmet...


38 posted on 08/12/2020 2:01:47 PM PDT by Carriage Hill (A society grows great when old men plant trees, in whose shade they know they will never sit.)
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To: rktman

What & where 3 choppers?


39 posted on 08/12/2020 2:04:03 PM PDT by conservativesister
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To: SJackson

My uncle flew his own private planes. He said he had been shot at several times, as evidenced by bullet holes. I gathered it’s not uncommon. (He was active from the thirties to the early seventies.)

Speaking of bullets, the final time I cleaned my parent’s gutters in Tampa, I found three bullets. Two .22’s and something that looked smaller than a .38, possibly a .25 or .32. So, there area a lot of bullets flying around.


40 posted on 08/12/2020 2:13:13 PM PDT by Gen.Blather (Wait! I said that out loud?)
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