The Tennessean
Fog prompts 2 Army helicopters to land beside I-65
Two Longbow Apache helicopters were forced to land in a grassy area next to Interstate 65 in Sumner County yesterday when fog became too thick for pilots to fly.
Both aircraft came from the 13th Aviation at Hunter Air Force Base in Savannah, Ga., and were headed to Fort Campbell.
The 4 p.m. landing caused many motorists to rubberneck and slow down, so the Tennessee Highway Patrol dispatched a trooper to the scene to help traffic and assist the pilots if necessary.
''The fog came in so fast we had to land quickly,'' said Lt. Matt Cole, a West Point graduate who piloted one of the choppers. ''I only have about 80 hours in the air,'' Cole said about his experience. ''So this was pretty exciting.''
''When the weather moved in, and the fog moved in — with a multimillion-dollar aircraft, you set it down,'' said George Heath, spokesman for the Fort Campbell Army post.
The Apache is the Army's premier attack helicopter, Heath said. ''It does not have the sophisticated instrumentation for long-range bad weather flying.'' Two pilots were in each chopper, he said.
Fort Campbell officials dispatched military police to guard the aircraft. Heath said the choppers will leave when the fog lifts, which may be this morning.