DHL A-300 B6 missile strike at Baghdad Airport

[Dew Point]

Taken from another aviation site:

'On Saturday November 22 at 1015 local time a DHL A-300B6 taking off from Baghdad Int'l Apt (formerly Saddam Int'l - SDA) was hit by 2 SAM-7 missiles at height of approx 2500ft.
Both missiles impacted, one in contact with the left wing, another apparently not in contact, but close enough to inflict damage. The one that impacted on contact hit a point approx. 5m outboard of the engine mount. The wing caught fire, but the pilot, who declared an emergency, was able to land safely. The aircraft is still at BAG awaiting repairs.'

Funny, there was nothing in the news!

Hope it is just a rumour, otherwise things are getting out of hands!!


'And let's get one thing straight. There's a big difference between a pilot and an aviator. One is a technician; the other is an artist in love with flight.'

— E. B. Jeppesen

[Deanw]

Iraqi attackers leak video of jet's downing

Baghdad, November 25

A video showing a masked militant firing the missile that hit a DHL cargo jet over Baghdad this weekend - ending all commercial civilian flights - has been delivered to a French journalist.

The missile set the plane's engine ablaze - the first successful hit on a plane in the seven-month-old insurgency.

The six-minute footage was received by Sara Daniel, a correspondent with a French weekly, Le Nouvel Observateur, on Monday. It shows 10 militants, with their faces covered by chequered keffiyeh headdresses or white scarves, carrying out the attack south of the capital on Saturday.

The missile, launched from the shoulder, is seen shooting up into the sky after being fired by one of the men. It then homes in on the Airbus-300 freighter. The vapour trail makes a sharp U-turn as the missile homes in on signals from flight.

The militants are then seen rushing away in a car. The 11th militant - who presumably shot the footage - films his own lap in his haste to get into the vehicle.

After a break the video resumes with footage of the airliner diving down to Baghdad airport - this part of the recording is amateur footage shot through electricity lines.

The men were clad in flowing black abayas or camouflage fatigues and carried rocket-propelled grenade launchers or Kalashnikovs, as well as two portable missile launchers.

Only one missile is shown being fired.

Before the firing a US army helicopter is seen hovering in the middle distance, but the militants have clearly chosen their target and leave the military aircraft alone.

The missile launcher is an SA-14 Gremlin, not an SA-7 Grail as initially reported by the US military.

Daniel said the video had been left at her hotel on Sunday. She said she had no idea why she had been chosen from the hundreds of other journalists covering the insurgency that has dogged the occupation.

"I have been working on a feature on the resistance groups for several weeks. I've no idea who these people are who carried out this attack but maybe they had heard of me through the others I have met while researching my piece."

Daniel said she had met "Islamic militants who were bitterly opposed to Saddam Hussein's regime and whose only aim now is to end the US occupation".

A miraculous emergency landing at Baghdad airport meant nobody was hurt in the strike. But the hit prompted the suspension by the US military of all commercial civilian flights into the Iraqi capital - severing a key link to the outside world.

The decision affected DHL - the only commercial courier to fly into Iraq - and Royal Wings, a subsidiary of Royal Jordanian, which offered the only regular passenger service.

Tens of thousands of surface-to-air missiles were bought by Saddam Hussein's regime, many of which fell into civilian hands after the collapse of his armed forces during the US-led invasion.

The coalition has set up a buy-back programme to get the weapons off the streets but acknowledges that hundreds probably remain in the hands of their enemies.

The threat has prevented the reopening of Baghdad airport to scheduled flights since the entry of US troops - despite huge initial interest from international carriers.


[AFP]

[Deanw]

Hi all

I've received some photos of DLL on the ground. Although they overran the runway, the aircraft appears in good nick (apart from the port wing :oh: )

Well handled guys :ok:

Email me ([email protected]) if you want a copy.

[UNCTUOUS]

Links to the translated Paris Match Article and all the photos of the guerillas launching the two missiles plus the damage to the aircraft.

LINK ONE (http://www.iasa-intl.com/folders/belfast/241103/index.html)


LINK TWO (http://www.iasa-intl.com/folders/belfast/241103/index.htm)

[AdamCG]

http://www.strategypage.com/gallery/default.asp?target=DHL_SAM_attack1.htm

[tallrite]

Next Sunday 7th December, be sure to check my weekly Tallrite Blog (www.tallrite.com/blog.htm).

The lead article will be the INSIDE story of what exactly happened on board when the missile impacted and the wider issues surrounding the strike.

This will be a unique account, never before published, from impeccable sources.

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It is no wonder that these terrorists chose a French journalist....it is the French who have been backing Saddam Hussein and a host of other sponsors of terrorism for years now. Today the French are the main thorn in the side of the coalition against terror.

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