thedrifter
02-03-07, 03:38 PM
Helicopter crash kills 2
Spate of losses raises questions on insurgents’ methods
By Matthew Cox - Times staff
Posted : Saturday Feb 3, 2007 9:39:34 EST
The Feb. 2 crash of a U.S. helicopter in Iraq that killed two soldiers is the fourth loss of a helicopter in two weeks, highlighting the dangers facing American forces as they gear up for a security sweep to tame the capital and surrounding areas.
Witnesses and local police said two helicopters were flying together when gunmen on the ground opened fire, downing one of the aircraft near Taji, an air base 12 miles north of Baghdad.
“We are investigating the report of a downed aircraft,” said Multi-National Corps-Iraq spokesman Army Lt. Col. James Hutton, adding that “it’s premature for me to speculate” if it was brought down by enemy fire.
American forces sealed off the area as U.S. planes flew overhead, witnesses said.
An MNC-I press release confirmed that “two soldiers were killed when the helicopter went down. Their remains have been recovered and the site secured.”
The names of the soldiers were with-held until their families have been notified, the release stated. The Army also confirmed the bird was an Apache.
The U.S. military relies heavily on air transportation in Iraq to avoid roadside bombs and insurgent attacks. The recent spate of losses has raised questions about whether Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias may have stepped up attacks on helicopters or may have received new supplies of shoulder-fired anti-aircraft weapons.
“Clearly, there’s been more effective ground fire or ground fire that has been more effective against our helicopters in the last couple of weeks,” Gen. Peter Pace, chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon on Feb. 2. He said he did not know “whether or not this is just statistically what’s going to happen over time when you’re flying at that level and people are shooting at you, or if there’s some kind of new tactics and techniques that we need to adjust to.”
Soldiers from the Army’s Aviation Center at Fort Rucker, Ala., are in Iraq participating in investigations “to try and decide what is causing these accidents,” Aviation Center spokesman Chuck Widener said.
“This is obviously a priority,” Widener said. The Aviation Center’s job, he said, is “to train soldiers to be able to avoid risks and do lessons learned on one, how we can one improve their skills; two, improve our aircraft — whatever we can do to protect and save lives of the soldiers.”
Since May 2003 the U.S. military has lost 54 helicopters in Iraq, about half of them to hostile fire, according to figures compiled by the Brookings Institution.
Three other helicopters have been lost in Iraq since Jan. 20.
All were said to have been shot down, although the Defense Department has not confirmed the cause of the crashes.
* Black Hawk crashed in Diyala province Jan. 20, killing 12 soldiers aboard. Searchers at the scene found a tube that could be part of a shoulder-fired weapon that may have been used to shoot down the aircraft, officials.
* A U.S. military helicopter went down Jan. 28 during fighting near Najaf, killing the two crew members.
* An OH-6A helicopter owned by the private security company Moyock, N.C.-based Blackwater USA crashed Jan. 23 in Baghdad in heavy gunfire, killing four civilian contractors.
Ellie
Spate of losses raises questions on insurgents’ methods
By Matthew Cox - Times staff
Posted : Saturday Feb 3, 2007 9:39:34 EST
The Feb. 2 crash of a U.S. helicopter in Iraq that killed two soldiers is the fourth loss of a helicopter in two weeks, highlighting the dangers facing American forces as they gear up for a security sweep to tame the capital and surrounding areas.
Witnesses and local police said two helicopters were flying together when gunmen on the ground opened fire, downing one of the aircraft near Taji, an air base 12 miles north of Baghdad.
“We are investigating the report of a downed aircraft,” said Multi-National Corps-Iraq spokesman Army Lt. Col. James Hutton, adding that “it’s premature for me to speculate” if it was brought down by enemy fire.
American forces sealed off the area as U.S. planes flew overhead, witnesses said.
An MNC-I press release confirmed that “two soldiers were killed when the helicopter went down. Their remains have been recovered and the site secured.”
The names of the soldiers were with-held until their families have been notified, the release stated. The Army also confirmed the bird was an Apache.
The U.S. military relies heavily on air transportation in Iraq to avoid roadside bombs and insurgent attacks. The recent spate of losses has raised questions about whether Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias may have stepped up attacks on helicopters or may have received new supplies of shoulder-fired anti-aircraft weapons.
“Clearly, there’s been more effective ground fire or ground fire that has been more effective against our helicopters in the last couple of weeks,” Gen. Peter Pace, chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon on Feb. 2. He said he did not know “whether or not this is just statistically what’s going to happen over time when you’re flying at that level and people are shooting at you, or if there’s some kind of new tactics and techniques that we need to adjust to.”
Soldiers from the Army’s Aviation Center at Fort Rucker, Ala., are in Iraq participating in investigations “to try and decide what is causing these accidents,” Aviation Center spokesman Chuck Widener said.
“This is obviously a priority,” Widener said. The Aviation Center’s job, he said, is “to train soldiers to be able to avoid risks and do lessons learned on one, how we can one improve their skills; two, improve our aircraft — whatever we can do to protect and save lives of the soldiers.”
Since May 2003 the U.S. military has lost 54 helicopters in Iraq, about half of them to hostile fire, according to figures compiled by the Brookings Institution.
Three other helicopters have been lost in Iraq since Jan. 20.
All were said to have been shot down, although the Defense Department has not confirmed the cause of the crashes.
* Black Hawk crashed in Diyala province Jan. 20, killing 12 soldiers aboard. Searchers at the scene found a tube that could be part of a shoulder-fired weapon that may have been used to shoot down the aircraft, officials.
* A U.S. military helicopter went down Jan. 28 during fighting near Najaf, killing the two crew members.
* An OH-6A helicopter owned by the private security company Moyock, N.C.-based Blackwater USA crashed Jan. 23 in Baghdad in heavy gunfire, killing four civilian contractors.
Ellie