US Chinook Helicopter Crashes in eastern Afghanistan.

A US Chinook helicopter crashed west of the city of Asadabad during an anti-guerrilla operation in eastern Afghanistan overnight and the status of those aboard was not immediately known, the US military said.

The twin-rotor helicopter was transporting troops into an area in support of US forces, the military said in a statement.
"The cause of the crash and status of survivors is unknown at this time," it said.

Link

My thoughts are with the crew and families.

Sanc'.

The cause of the crash in Kunar province was not clear, a military statement said. Other helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft were deployed to the site, it said.

Link

Sanc'.

Aw man, my prayers will go out to our fallen as well. I had a chance to fly in a Chinook back in 1981 and it sounded like a bucket-of-bolts. I thought for sure it would shake itself apart and I sat near a door towards the front so I could jump out when it fell from the sky.

Our boys in the field need that V-22 Osprey...these Chinooks are way too old for combat operations.

Maximu§

The cause of the crash was not known, nor was the fate of the passengers. A Chinook helicopter can carry up to 54 passengers plus a crew of four.

The military said the aircraft had been participating in an anti-guerrilla operation.

BBC

A U.S. CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter crashed Tuesday while flying troops into eastern Afghanistan, and the fate of those on board was not immediately known, the military said.

Link

My dad was a flight Engineer in veitnam, and flew in a CH-47C

Sad to see a Hooker go down. THere are ground troops who owe thier lives to them and have nothing bad ot say about them

Hmm, sad...another crash. We have lost so many due to accidents and mishaps. I pray that the family will be OK

Our boys in the field need that V-22 Osprey...these Chinooks are way too old for combat operations

The V-22 (at this time) is still being "tested" at Pax river Maryland. Yeah, it's much safer than it used to be....but some aspects are still in the expiermental stage. I think is only a couple of V-22 Squadrons out there now in addition to Pax River...not sure tho.

But, I see what ya mean.....As of now the Army will have the Chinook for longer than desired, but the Corps wil soon start having operational V-22 squadrons. The V-22 will not repalce the Marine's CH-46 (looks like a Chinook).....but I heard online that the Army might get in on this and maybe use the V-22 as a chinook replacment.

[edit on 28/6/2005 by SportyMB]

Originally posted by SportyMB
The V-22 (at this time) is still being "tested" at Pax river Maryland. Yeah, it's much safer than it used to be....but some aspects are still in the expiermental stage.

I saw one last month while (moto-cross) camping in the Mojave desert...it flew much faster than I thought it could go...I mean it really was hauling a**.... it even had a F-5 chase jet with it.


Max

Just heard on CNN.
The Taliban has called in and claimed responsibility for the downing.
I pray for the families of the fallen.

They're estimating that there were 15-20 people on board the helicopter.

www.msnbc.msn.com...
"Reports indicate between 15 and 20 were aboard," said the official.

There was no immediate indication of the fate of the passengers or the cause of the crash, according to the U.S. military.

Provincial Gov. Asadullah Wafa told The Associated Press that the Taliban hit the aircraft with a rocket. He gave no other details.

[edit on 28-6-2005 by AceOfBase]

The CH-53 requires 44 man hours of work for every ONE flight hour. I'm not sure about the Chinooks though. We need the V-22s BAD.

They're now saying there were 17 people on board but there's still no word on their fate.

reuters
KABUL (Reuters) - A U.S. military helicopter that crashed during an anti-guerrilla mission in eastern Afghanistan may have been shot down and the fate of 17 U.S. troops aboard is not immediately known, the U.S. military said on Wednesday.

Initial reports indicated Tuesday's crash in Kunar province, which borders Pakistan, may have been caused by hostile fire in the operation against al Qaeda militants, the military said.

The twin-rotor CH-47 Chinook came down in remote and mountainous terrain west of Kunar's capital Asadabad, U.S. spokeswoman Lieutenant Cindy Moore said.

Kunar Governor Asadullah Wafa said it was hit by a rocket and a spokesman for the Taliban, Abdul Latif Hakimi, claimed the guerrillas shot down the aircraft in the village of Shorak using "a new type of weapon" he did not describe.

I wonder what this new type of weapon is?
Could it be that SA-18 missile they were saying may have hit the British C-130 in Iraq?
Military investigators: British C-130 hit by new variant of SA-18 missile

I was talking about this on another thread, rebels in Iraq and Afghanistan may be obtaining increasingly sophesticated SAM's, like the SA-18..which kicks ass and defeats countermeasures..if the rebels are able to obtain these weapons in significant numbers USA is in serious trouble..just like the stingers in 1980's Afghan, it will be the heavy bag of rice that breaks the camels back..

Looks like we lost some of our finest in this CH-47 crash. My deep sympathies go out to all the families suffering from the loss of these most intrepid souls.

"We presume that all were lost," the official, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters when asked if all of those aboard -- including elite U.S. Seals Special Operations troops -- had apparently been killed in the crash.

The official repeated statements by the U.S. military that the CH-47 Chinook helicopter was believed to have been hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in mountainous terrain near the border with Pakistan.

The twin-rotor Chinook crashed in remote and mountainous Kunar province on Tuesday afternoon while bringing troops to reinforce soldiers on the ground carrying out an anti-al Qaeda operation, according to the U.S. military in Afghanistan.

news.yahoo.com...

More info coming in.

Many of the 17 service members on the MH-47, a variant of the Army's twin-rotor Chinook transport, were believed to be members of various special forces units known as a QRF -- a quick response force -- which moves in under fire to either extract troops on the ground or reinforce them.

The U.S. military said the aircraft had been taking part in "Operation Red Wing," aimed at defeating al Qaeda militants carrying out harassing attacks and gathering intelligence, Reuters reported.

Afghan officials claim the infiltration of rebels from neighboring Pakistan has contributed to the rise in violence and have urged Islamabad to crack down on militants there.

Pakistan vehemently denies there is any official sanctioning of the infiltration.

On Sunday, Afghan intelligence agents stopped a plot by three Pakistanis to assassinate Zalmay Khalilzad, the departing U.S. ambassador.

www.cnn.com...

Mushareff better get off his azz and start behaving like a real US ally instead of a twirling puppet in a tug-of-war. Regardless of his limp-wristed efforts Pakistan remains a haven of Al-qaeda/Taliban scum.

Pakistan releases 45 former militants

LAHORE, Pakistan, June 29 (UPI) -- The Pakistani government has freed 45 nationals who spent nine months in detention after they had been repatriated from jails in Afghanistan.

The Pakistani nationals had been caught in Afghanistan in late 2001 while fighting with the Taliban against U.S. forces. They were released Tuesday from the main jail in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, Radio Australia reported Wednesday.

All of the released prisoners had left their homes to wage jihad against the U.S. forces in neighboring Afghanistan. They were all in their 20s and a majority of them were bearded, Pakistani site The News International reported.

Officials said a further 40 prisoners will be released later this week.

www.sciencedaily.com...

Bad juju indeed.

We build the Chinooks in Philadelphia, and I have many friends and oclleagues working on them.

Also, Ron the bass player in the band (who is a retired Army ring-knocker) has a nephew who is a crew chief on a Chinook in Afghanistan. As of this morning he hasn't heard one way or another.

And, of course we lost an Apache in Iraq, with both the pilot and CPG buying the farm. This is very personal and painful stuff for my colleagues and me.

Wreckage of US helicopter found.

Rescuers have reached the wreckage of a helicopter that crashed under fire in Afghanistan, but the fate of 17 personnel on board remains unknown, the US military said today.

The Taliban, ousted from power by US-led forces in 2001, said they shot down the specially-modified Chinook as it tried to disembark on Tuesday west of Asadabad, a town in the insurgency-plagued eastern province of Kunar.
"Coalition forces have secured the site where a helicopter crashed June 28 and are currently assessing the cause of the crash and the status of the 17 service members who were on board the MH-47 helicopter," a US military statement said.

News.com.au

US dead found after Afghan crash.

US military officials in Afghanistan say 13 bodies have been recovered from the site where one of their Chinook helicopters crashed on Tuesday.
Another seven soldiers are unaccounted for, some of them soldiers who were fighting on the ground.

The Taleban say they shot the Chinook down. The US concedes that "hostile fire" may have been the cause.

BBC

Sanc'.

Hunt for missing US ground troops.

US forces are searching for soldiers who are still missing in Afghanistan three days after a helicopter was shot down on a mission to support them.
The US military has reason to hope the soldiers have not been killed or captured, the BBC's Andrew North says.

The Taleban say they shot down the aircraft, which was carrying troops to help a reconnaissance unit in the area.

Military officials told our correspondent, who is at the main US base in eastern Afghanistan, they had "several indications" that the troops on the ground were still alive, but they would not say what those indications were.

They also refused to say why the unit had not yet been brought to safety.

BBC
CNN

Sanc'.

UPDATE.

One member of a U.S. special operations reconnaissance team missing in Afghanistan since Tuesday has been rescued, a U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity told CNN.

The team member "evaded the enemy and was successfully rescued by U.S. forces," the official said.

No other details are being released because the search for other missing members of the team continues, the official said.

A military helicopter crashed Tuesday while bringing reinforcements to the team, killing all 16 service members aboard.

The U.S. military believes the chopper was downed by a rocket-propelled grenade.

CNN
news.com.au

This is some good news from this very sad incident.

Sanc'.
edit:grammar

[edit on 3-7-2005 by sanctum]

Yes apparently as the helicopter was preparing to land and started slowing down the Taliban rebels from a position above the chopper hit it with a RPG.

Second missing US soldier located.

A second American soldier missing in Afghanistan after a special forces helicopter was shot down last week has been located, a provincial governor said today.

The governor of Kunar province, where a team of US troops went missing last Tuesday, said Afghan forces received information that a wounded American was being treated by villagers in a remote mountainous part of the province.
The soldier was in the same area as that where a US helicopter sent to rescue troops operating there was shot down on Tuesday, killing all 16 US Special Forces soldiers aboard.

US military spokesmen in Kabul have declined to confirm reports quoting unidentified Pentagon officials as saying one missing Special Forces soldier was rescued on Saturday after evading militants for five days.

news.com.au

Hopefully this is true. I wonder why the US military won't confirm Pentagon reports of the rescue of the first Special Forces soldier was rescued last Saturday?

Probably for security reasons...as to locations ect. Terrorists have the internet too.

Sanc'.