CH-47 Chinook Down w/ Troops - Iraq

[RDRickster]

Sunday, November 2, 2003 Posted: 10:32 AM EST (1532 GMT)

A U.S. military transport helicopter crashed Sunday near Fallujah, Iraq, killing 15 U.S. troops and wounding 21 others, the U.S. military said.

Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

Click here for article link! (http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/11/02/sprj.irq.main/index.html)

Looks like 15 KIA and 21 Wounded. Brothers from my old unit. Not a good day.

[Barannfin]

looks like our luck ran out today. The way that wreckage looked those survivors arent outta the woods yet, I hope they all pull through. Def. not a good day, condolences to those with family in the 82nd.

[ProfessorFate]

I do NOT want to hear Dubya say that this is one more example of how "on the run" and "desparate" the Iraqis are, nor do I want to see this tragedy touted as another example of American success in Iraq.

My condolences to their friends and families.

[SASless]

Professor,



One shoot down of an aircraft however tragic is small part of the on-going situation. We unfortunately shall see more losses as this thing progresses.

I fail to see how you can make such statements as you did knowing that this or future downings are not going to change the overall situation politically. The use of shoulder fired anti-aircraft missles has been anticipated since the onset of hostilities and we have been most fortunate that it has taken this long for them to be used against us.

Many of us at this forum particularly have an interest in seeing as many of our young men and women return home safely because many of them are our sons and daughters.

I would suggest your political commentary should be removed to the JetBlast forum if you wish to make such political statements and restrain your posts here to more technical and thus acceptable comments. You are welcome to air your individual political beliefs but I would suggest there exists a more appropriate forum for that within PPRUNE.

[RDRickster]

Ditto what SASless said. Regardless of political views, show some respect. Also, lets keep PPRuNe the way it is. No need for commentary that will eventually lead to a nasty debate outside the realm of rotorcraft.

[The Auditor]

The Professor was just stating the obvious.....

He also felt sincerely for those that didn't make it..."My condolences to their friends and families."

Lacking in your posts.....??

Even the American people are making the public statement that this idiot President lied, and continues to lie......let there be an election tomorrow????...pathetic.

Why do our colleagues die, and will continue to die for such a screwed up cause....

Sorry, but we obviously vote for different people, but I can't accept this idiotic "cause" as to why we are having dedicated aviators and soldiers killed at the rate of over one each day.....and for what???

For the money shifts from the public sector to that select private sector....that is what war is all about!!!

Wake up and realise that this is just "Business", and has nothing to do with right and wrong.

[ProfessorFate]

Thanks, Auditor.

You see, I do care, and have the utmost respect for those who wear the uniform...who chose to serve with honor and nobility.

But honor goes both ways. When someone behaves honorably toward you, you have a debt of honor to that person. A debt which is not only unpaid, but practically mocked by the administration of this country. Their benefits are cut, their hazardous-duty pay is cut, the wounded have to wait months -months! to even get a medical evaluation. One of them is a friend of mine and a fine pilot.

You do know that Mr. Bush has not attended a single funeral for a soldier or pilot killed in this war, don't you?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A40317-2003Sep7&notFound=true

You do know that Mr. Bush was AWOL between May 1972 and May 1973, don't you?

http://www.awolbush.com
http://www.talion.com/transcript.html

A lot of people who read these boards have completed their commitments or are in the process of completing them...with honor, and I respect and honor those people.

They deserve better. They deserve honor equal to that with which they have behaved. They deserve an honorable Commander-in-Chief...as did those poor bastards in the Chinook. May they rest in peace.

But Rickster would prefer that we just talk about helicopters. Very well. I never flew the Chinook, the Vertol is as big as I've ever flown. I never understood why the folks who could gen up an SAS couldn't manage on automatic aft-rotor trim better than that silly beep switch on the collective - I mean, rig it with a Wheatstone bridge or something.

[RDRickster]

Folks, you are welcome to your mis-guided opinion. I'm simply not going to respond in-kind because this post was about a helicopter incident where many deaths were involved. I'd rather not turn this into a political discussion.

[FlyAny]

The Chinook is a Vertol. Boeing Vertol. I have a set of directional pedals that say just that.

Wheat stone bridge? Both rotor systems program forward based on altitude and airspeed.

The only time I ever used a manual beep was in turbulence, when you don't want the rotor systems cycling back and forth with airspeed variations. And, when the aerodynamic balance of the a rotor system, normally the aft one I admit, could be smoothed out with a little tweaking.

Back to the base issue, God's love to the families, and balls forward to the rest of that unit.