Black Hawk makes `hard landing' in Iraq (crew is safe)

[maddezmom]

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A U.S. Black Hawk helicopter made a "hard landing" north of Baghdad on Wednesday and the crew was recovered safely by a rescue chopper, a military spokesman said.

Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said investigators were looking into the reason the Black Hawk went down, but he did not elaborate.

link:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070221/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_black_hawk

[Solly Mack]

1. any landing you can walk away from is a good landing

It's a win in my book anyway

[DemoTex]

2. Sounds like a hard-landing out of an auto-rotation.

The question is: Was the auto-rotation (if that was, indeed, the case) necessitated by mechanical problems or battle damage?


Auto-Rotate Bu$h

[Robbien]

3. Story updated. Sighting of copter being hit by missle

BAGHDAD, Feb 21 (Reuters)
It was unclear why the helicopter made such a landing, but Iraqi police captain Mahmoud al-Mashhadani said he saw some type of projectile hitting the aircraft before it came down on Wednesday in a rural area known as the Line, 30 kilometres north of Baghdad.

"I saw a ball of fire hitting the aircraft and smoke coming out of the helicopter as it came down," Mashhadani told Reuters.

U.S. military spokesman Major-General William Caldwell said another helicopter had picked up those on board.

http://today.reuters.com/News/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=NL2187494

[maddezmom]

4. US military confirms copter brought down my small arms, RPG's

Military: Black Hawk helicopter apparently brought down by small arms, RPGs
BAGHDAD (CNN) -- A U.S. military official said small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades might have been responsible for bringing down a Black Hawk UH-60 helicopter northwest of Baghdad.

U.S. Maj. Gen. William Caldwell passed along the update in a pre-taped interview with CNN's "Situation Room." The military initially called it a "hard landing."

"Indications are now -- again it's preliminary, but the indications are now -- that it was brought down by small-arms fire and RPGs -- rocket-propelled grenades," in what Caldwell described as a "tough area."

"It did land safely. All nine occupants transferred to another helicopter."

link:http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/02/21/wednesday/index.html

[cal04]

5. Black Hawk down north of Baghdad - U.S. military

A U.S. Black Hawk helicopter that went down north of Baghdad on Wednesday is believed to have been shot down, the military said.

A statement from the U.S. military said all nine people on board were evacuated and there were no serious injuries.

"The indications are now, again it's preliminary, but the indications are now that it was brought down by small arms fire and RPGs -- rocket propelled grenades," said Major-General William Caldwell, the chief U.S. military spokesman in Iraq.

"It did land safely. All nine occupants were transferred to another helicopter," he told CNN.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IBO158069.htm