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thedrifter
12-11-06, 11:09 AM
December 11, 2006
18 injured as Marine helo makes hard landing in Iraq

The Associated Press

BAGHDAD — A Marine helicopter carrying 21 people made a hard landing in Anbar province on Monday, injuring 18, the military said.

Hostile action did not appear to be the cause of the problem suffered by the CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter while conducting a routine passenger and cargo flight at noon, it said.

Eighteen people were injured, including nine who were treated and returned to duty, the U.S. command said in a brief statement.

Ellie

thedrifter
12-11-06, 07:23 PM
December 11, 2006
Super Stallion makes ‘hard landing’ in Iraq

By John Hoellwarth
Staff writer

A Marine Corps CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter made a “hard landing” in Iraq’s Anbar province Monday, injuring 18 of the 21 people on board, according to a Corps release.

Of the 18 injured, half sustained only “minor injuries and returned to duty,” according to the release.

The helicopter, assigned to 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing’s forward element in Iraq, was transporting passengers and cargo when the incident occurred, according to the release.

Though the cause of the hard landing is under investigation, “the incident does not appear to be the result of enemy action,” the release said.

The hard landing follows last week’s crash of a 3rd MAW CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter in an Anbar lake that led to the deaths of four of the 16 onboard. The Corps ruled out enemy action as a cause for that crash, too, according to a Dec. 5 release.

Lt. Gen. John Castellaw, deputy commandant for aviation, told reporters Dec. 7 that the Corps’ aircraft in Iraq are logging up to four times more flight hours than normal, leading to wear and tear that regularly requires extensive maintenance.

He said aircraft mechanics in Iraq often find large piles of sand clogging aircraft engines when they break them down for repairs.

The Super Stallion that crashed Monday was one of 149 such helicopters in the Marine Corps, down 7 percent from the 160 aircraft needed in the fleet, according to Corps statistics.

Ellie