Chinook crashes in Greece [Archive]

Rwy in Sight

13th Sep 2004, 09:08

It was a CH-47D operated by the Greek Army Air Force dedicated for a VIP transport. It went down some 15 nautical miles from the destination. No serious clues about what went wrong (weather seemed 7 beaufort wind or 35 knots and ok visibility).

It seems that there was a serious confusion between civil and military ATC and a 2 hours delay to launch a SAR. In the mean time the head of the Greek Air Force has resign in order not to be a scape (sp) goat.

Investigation might be difficult since the sea at the accident site is something like 980+ deep.

Rwy in Sight

PS: Is there any urgent AD pending for CH-47D?

ThinkRate

22nd Feb 2005, 08:41

News Update

From In.gr agency in Greek, translated into English using Babel Fish (Altavista)

22/02/05 07:49 Athens
Explanations for the accident
A mortal turn of 180 degrees was made by the ill-fated Chinook before its crash

A sudden turn of 180 degrees led, on 11 September 2004, to their death 17 passengers of ill-fated helicopter Chinook, between which also the Patriarch of Alexandria. According to publication of NEA newspaper, the change of course to the opposite direction and the plunge with big speed that followed, have been recorded in the radar and they constitute up to the moment the hard evidence with which the Greek and American experts interpret the reasons of fall of Chinook. From the decipherment of data of flight of helicopter at the last seconds it results that the turn was sudden and obligatory, while in combination with other discoveries the experts are led to the conclusion that did not exist damage in the joystick of Chinook. As the present elements reveal, "entanglement of" joystick was caused by an instantaneous necrosis of system of catering of helicopter with electric energy - that is to say a generalised electric blackout. In the documentation of this version - if it is not reversed by analyses that have began in laboratories of USA - has been included experience of techniques from similar damage in helicopters of this type. Accordingly, with the data that have at their disposal the NEA newspaper, has not been found the cause that it caused the blackout of the electric system. Answer to this question perhaps will be given by the laboratories of USA where the past week they were sent a line of elements and parts from the helicopter.

Greek Link (http://www.in.gr/news/article.asp?lngEntityID=603450&lngDtrID=244)

For the copy,

TR
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