Underslung Load 'Incidents'
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Late 1970's with the Wittering crash team, recovering a Harrier GR3 which had shot itself down on the Holbeach range. The debris was in the mud below the high water mark and we had spent all of a Saturday morning collecting debris into plastic bags which went into a net and were being carried to dry land under (I think) a Wessex when the net opened. With a collective sigh we slurped across several hundred yards of mud and started again.
In the FI in the early 80s, didn't an infantry detachment come down Mt Kent in the ISO rubbish container under a Chinook?
In the FI in the early 80s, didn't an infantry detachment come down Mt Kent in the ISO rubbish container under a Chinook?
I remember reading the article in the Oxford Mail about the motorist who was shocked to see a boat land on the road directly in front of him.
It was a JATE USL that had failed / released.
It was a JATE USL that had failed / released.
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Two tales put together there WP. The Mt Kent incident was an 'empty' container picked up on Mt Kent, when the crew eventually put the load down in Stanley it was check-weighed and found to be approx 21 tonnes and full of building rubbish. The troops incident was (IIRC) Ghurka engineers who secreted themselves in a container unbeknown to the crew and subsequently got transported from Kelly's Garden to Campito across 'Bomb Alley'.
Last edited by Motleycallsign; 18th Jun 2012 at 11:42.
Sad but true story.....
CH-47C slinging a O1-E Bird Dog airplane. Bird Dog duly rigged with a 4"x4" by 8' piece of lumber on top of each wing as spoilers. Chinook crew being chased by the Recovery crew Huey. Despite radio calls from the Huey crew....the Chinook accelerated to about 110 knots. At that point the Bird Dog despite the wooden spoilers began to fly.....oscillated behind the Chinook....swung forward up in front of the Chinook....and on the second oscillation swung into the rotor blades forward.....Chinook shed all its blades and came apart in the air....fell 2500 feet into the jungle below.
I have recovered three airplanes....an O1-E Bird Dog, a Beaver, and a Cessna A-37.....oddly enough the Army used the sling harness designed for the Bird Dog to lift the Air Force A-37. Half way home with the A-37....one of the four point connection points broke....and the aircraft rolled over on its side with the nose pointing upwards. We got it down on the ground and only damaged one of the tip tanks by bending the wee small wing looking thing on the tip tank.
The Beaver haul was good until one of the wooden spoilers departed....then the ol' Beav got all squirrelly.
Fort Rucker used to have a derelict Lockheed T-33 for a practice sling load.....carried that around quite a bit too.
CH-47C slinging a O1-E Bird Dog airplane. Bird Dog duly rigged with a 4"x4" by 8' piece of lumber on top of each wing as spoilers. Chinook crew being chased by the Recovery crew Huey. Despite radio calls from the Huey crew....the Chinook accelerated to about 110 knots. At that point the Bird Dog despite the wooden spoilers began to fly.....oscillated behind the Chinook....swung forward up in front of the Chinook....and on the second oscillation swung into the rotor blades forward.....Chinook shed all its blades and came apart in the air....fell 2500 feet into the jungle below.
I have recovered three airplanes....an O1-E Bird Dog, a Beaver, and a Cessna A-37.....oddly enough the Army used the sling harness designed for the Bird Dog to lift the Air Force A-37. Half way home with the A-37....one of the four point connection points broke....and the aircraft rolled over on its side with the nose pointing upwards. We got it down on the ground and only damaged one of the tip tanks by bending the wee small wing looking thing on the tip tank.
The Beaver haul was good until one of the wooden spoilers departed....then the ol' Beav got all squirrelly.
Fort Rucker used to have a derelict Lockheed T-33 for a practice sling load.....carried that around quite a bit too.
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US Huey being lifted back with a broken skid by a US Chinook, US Engineer says, watch this, a Cat 1 (or what ever he called it) aircraft is about to become Cat 3, sure enough, Huey put on ground safe and sound then the strop was jettisoned straight through the top of the canopy...
Last edited by NutLoose; 18th Jun 2012 at 13:21.
UH OH! Who was watching! It was an AH-1G Cobra at Duc Hoa airstrip in the middle of the night....pouring down rain....the hook would not release properly....that is my story and I am sticking to it! Picked it up down near Vinh Long after it had been shot down....took some rounds in the engine which caused a forced landing.
In those days....Cockpit glass for Cobra's was as scarce as Hen's Teeth. Engines were dime a dozen.
In those days....Cockpit glass for Cobra's was as scarce as Hen's Teeth. Engines were dime a dozen.
Avoid imitations
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I was once tasked to carry a medium girder bridge for the army in W. Germany, during an exercise. For a Puma it was rigged as five loads, three netted and two palletted (or vice versa, it's been a long time since). The loads were categorised as stable because they consisted of long aluminium box sections, which were later built together into the bridge shape by sliding long steel pins through welded on lugs. These box sections were stacked in alternate criss-cross layers, so they made a solid cube in the net.
During a transit with one of the netted loads, accelerating through about 50 kts, there was a sudden jolt through the entire airframe - how we helicopter pilots hate those sudden jolts. At the same time, the crewman made some sort of expletive. Before I could say anything, the so-called "stable" load appeared alongside my window; it was definitely no longer cube shaped! I instinctively flew away from it. The next few seconds were very interesting, with the load flying us, to some extent. But I managed to keep it on the hook until we could put it down again. The load had collapsed inside the net and formed itself into a curved wall, which was very unstable.
That afternoon was to be even more eventful. On a return leg we observed a soldier in a field, madly waving his arms at us. To cut a long story short, we landed alongside; his colleague had collapsed in the heat and his heart wasn't beating properly. We CASEVAC'd him to the nearest hospital, with him lying in the recovery position on the floor. Thankfully, the vibrations from the aircraft helped keep him ticking until we got him there.
Another USL person lift....now what about the tale of the "Santa's little helper on the Christmas tree" up in Scotland, a few years ago?
A certain pilot couldn't understand how the same bloke was at both the pickup and drop off points.....he'd got caught up in the rigging and unfazed, just decided to carry on with the job on arrival!
During a transit with one of the netted loads, accelerating through about 50 kts, there was a sudden jolt through the entire airframe - how we helicopter pilots hate those sudden jolts. At the same time, the crewman made some sort of expletive. Before I could say anything, the so-called "stable" load appeared alongside my window; it was definitely no longer cube shaped! I instinctively flew away from it. The next few seconds were very interesting, with the load flying us, to some extent. But I managed to keep it on the hook until we could put it down again. The load had collapsed inside the net and formed itself into a curved wall, which was very unstable.
That afternoon was to be even more eventful. On a return leg we observed a soldier in a field, madly waving his arms at us. To cut a long story short, we landed alongside; his colleague had collapsed in the heat and his heart wasn't beating properly. We CASEVAC'd him to the nearest hospital, with him lying in the recovery position on the floor. Thankfully, the vibrations from the aircraft helped keep him ticking until we got him there.
Another USL person lift....now what about the tale of the "Santa's little helper on the Christmas tree" up in Scotland, a few years ago?
A certain pilot couldn't understand how the same bloke was at both the pickup and drop off points.....he'd got caught up in the rigging and unfazed, just decided to carry on with the job on arrival!
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In my previous incarnation as a Gen Tech GSE, I was part of the hooking team on Mount Alice. As part of the monthly resupply, the Mount Pleasant team were down the bottom of the hill in Albemarle Harbour hooking up the ISOs from the MV ST Brandon and we were at the top of the hill unhooking the ISO.
The last lift of the day was to be our newly refurbished site Generator. We were surprised to see the Chinook come over the horizon minus the big shiny Generator ISO. Apparently someone messed up the ECLS settings and our genny was now sat at in 20ft of water at the bottom of the harbour were it had been jettisoned.
If you want to read the report look up asor\MOUNT PLEASANT\78 SQN\Chinook\96\83679 on ASIMS
The last lift of the day was to be our newly refurbished site Generator. We were surprised to see the Chinook come over the horizon minus the big shiny Generator ISO. Apparently someone messed up the ECLS settings and our genny was now sat at in 20ft of water at the bottom of the harbour were it had been jettisoned.
If you want to read the report look up asor\MOUNT PLEASANT\78 SQN\Chinook\96\83679 on ASIMS
"NIGHT STREAM"
That title alone should get the heartbeat up!
A simple one, night stream on exercise in Germany.
Carrying rations, we had the "Mothers Pride".
Started with a full net.
Net gradually rotates, spreading bread over Germany (Manna 2 ?)
Cannot really do much about it (night stream).
Not a lot of bread arrived at destination!
Lots more heartache to come, "USL" & "Incident" come in the same sentence!
lsh
A simple one, night stream on exercise in Germany.
Carrying rations, we had the "Mothers Pride".
Started with a full net.
Net gradually rotates, spreading bread over Germany (Manna 2 ?)
Cannot really do much about it (night stream).
Not a lot of bread arrived at destination!
Lots more heartache to come, "USL" & "Incident" come in the same sentence!
lsh
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One of my compatriots on Shawbury course 68 ('88-'89) lost a 1200 lb training load somewhere in deepest Shropshire...apparently it hit and killed a prize cow.
Both Crewman and Captain deny touching either of the SACRU releases, and the hook was checked and passed servicable...
The Crewman Leader (He of immense RAF Tenure) was not pleased and was seen wandering around clasping his silver axe...
Both Crewman and Captain deny touching either of the SACRU releases, and the hook was checked and passed servicable...
The Crewman Leader (He of immense RAF Tenure) was not pleased and was seen wandering around clasping his silver axe...
Gentleman Aviator
Carrying rations, we had the "Mothers Pride".
Started with a full net.
Started with a full net.
d'ye like wet bread in the morning!
..and when was a cow killed by the RAF not a prize cow?
Underslung loads may not always be the answer. Just been reading Ken Bell's '100 Missions North'. F-105 crashes after take-off into a Thai rice paddy. Engine is needed for crash investigation. Too swampy for ground heavy lift equipment. Call the choppers? Nope, they parked a flatbed on the levy and let the villagers know a handsome reward would await the bearers of a J75 engine. Next morning; engine on flatbed. Cost: probably about 3 million Thai Baht = $10.
Underslung loads may not always be the answer. Just been reading Ken Bell's '100 Missions North'. F-105 crashes after take-off into a Thai rice paddy. Engine is needed for crash investigation. Too swampy for ground heavy lift equipment. Call the choppers? Nope, they parked a flatbed on the levy and let the villagers know a handsome reward would await the bearers of a J75 engine. Next morning; engine on flatbed. Cost: probably about 3 million Thai Baht = $10.
SY
A wizzard wheeze by the Crewman Leader (Cloric Weiten) saw a trainee pilot practising "side-rights" on the grass outside 2AFTS Sqn.
He had told them that the Wessex to be recovered from Chetwynd, by Chinook, needed a qualified pilot on the Wsx brakes for take off and landing.
Why the 'chutes?
In case of USL jettison, of course!
Good one!
lsh
He had told them that the Wessex to be recovered from Chetwynd, by Chinook, needed a qualified pilot on the Wsx brakes for take off and landing.
Why the 'chutes?
In case of USL jettison, of course!
Good one!
lsh
Hmmm! 2 days ,33 replies!! For a bit of kit which ought to be relatively reliable??? In the late 60s, at Tern Hill, usls with the Whirlwind - hooked up, marshalled away and moved across for the next one in. Same, same, and returned for the first one -???? NOTHING underneath!!
Some difficulty getting pilot to understand that he was missing his load. Eventually got him landed and checked hook - CLOSED and LOCKED!!! Back to dispersal and call armourers. "QUITE IMPOSSIBLE", say they. "The geometry of the hook wouldn't allow the bar to open and reclose and lock - must have been 'finger trouble'. Hook bar must have been nudged closed by landing". I KNEW that this wasn't so, but couldn't prove it.
Move on a year or so and similar scenario and similar result! This time I insisted the helo stayed airborne and hover-taxied to the pan and held the hover while the armourers come out to inspect. Non-plussed armourers and nothing subsequently to explain same.
Must admit that the first time I noticed the manufacturer's name I had a momentary doubt - Hobbies of Dereham.
Some years later on D Squadron at Boscombe and we did trials on a 'jungle penetrator'- a device attached to the load hook, intended to be lowered into dense jungle with four extendable 'seats' with straps to allow up to four SF guys to be extracted in emergency. Not at all sure that I wouldn't have preferred to take my chances on foot. The trials were an 'interesting' failure!!
Some difficulty getting pilot to understand that he was missing his load. Eventually got him landed and checked hook - CLOSED and LOCKED!!! Back to dispersal and call armourers. "QUITE IMPOSSIBLE", say they. "The geometry of the hook wouldn't allow the bar to open and reclose and lock - must have been 'finger trouble'. Hook bar must have been nudged closed by landing". I KNEW that this wasn't so, but couldn't prove it. Move on a year or so and similar scenario and similar result! This time I insisted the helo stayed airborne and hover-taxied to the pan and held the hover while the armourers come out to inspect. Non-plussed armourers and nothing subsequently to explain same.
Must admit that the first time I noticed the manufacturer's name I had a momentary doubt - Hobbies of Dereham.
Some years later on D Squadron at Boscombe and we did trials on a 'jungle penetrator'- a device attached to the load hook, intended to be lowered into dense jungle with four extendable 'seats' with straps to allow up to four SF guys to be extracted in emergency. Not at all sure that I wouldn't have preferred to take my chances on foot. The trials were an 'interesting' failure!!
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Isn't there a wombat or mobat sitting in a river in Belize where it was dropped?
One of the first Chinook lifts they did was to demo the lifting of a bridge for the Army, the plain was bone dry sandy soil and the army had hosed it down for days, some staging and seating had been set up for the visiting Generals etc. I was asked as a keen photographer ( stills) to go along and record it on the Video recorder we had (a bloody massive affair). In it came, and a sandstorm soon erupted with me standing in the middle of it sans goggle but trying to carry on filming... The air was blue as I was calling CT the pilot along with the rest of the crew all the names under the sun, questioning his birth status and using words my Mother or the local Vicar would not recognise....
Job done and back at Odious the Video was put in and all gathered round to watch...... That is when I found it had sound 
RM the Chinook test pilot that came over with the HC1's related to a trip in Nam when he was transporting cattle up to the guys at the front, they liked their beef fresh so they used to transport them live, he said he had one break free, panic and attempt to join him in the cockpit, so he had to fly the Chinook whilst trying to shoot the steer in the head with his .45.
One of the first Chinook lifts they did was to demo the lifting of a bridge for the Army, the plain was bone dry sandy soil and the army had hosed it down for days, some staging and seating had been set up for the visiting Generals etc. I was asked as a keen photographer ( stills) to go along and record it on the Video recorder we had (a bloody massive affair). In it came, and a sandstorm soon erupted with me standing in the middle of it sans goggle but trying to carry on filming... The air was blue as I was calling CT the pilot along with the rest of the crew all the names under the sun, questioning his birth status and using words my Mother or the local Vicar would not recognise....
Job done and back at Odious the Video was put in and all gathered round to watch...... That is when I found it had sound RM the Chinook test pilot that came over with the HC1's related to a trip in Nam when he was transporting cattle up to the guys at the front, they liked their beef fresh so they used to transport them live, he said he had one break free, panic and attempt to join him in the cockpit, so he had to fly the Chinook whilst trying to shoot the steer in the head with his .45.
Last edited by NutLoose; 18th Jun 2012 at 17:06.
The US Army has its moments......of clarity and reason....but they are rare, short, and usually of no impact. The rest of the time......
We were tasked with moving empty CONEX containers from some place at the northern end of our Area of Operations back kto the Long Binh Logistical base.
Empty CONEX containers are aerodynamic loads. When they lash four of the things together they make one very large aerodynamic load.
It was real fun making those runs loaded.....take off...accelerate to 35 knots....decelerate to a near hover....wait for the strop to unwind....accelerate to 35 knots.....when the strop looked like it would snap.....back to a near hover....wait for the strop to unwind....get the picture?
There was no forward airspeed above maybe ten knots that would work....and fuel endurance meant having to push the airspeed to be able to make it to the destination without running out of fuel.
After two loads were donated to the Bad Guys for bunker material....the Army finally decided putting the things on empty flat bed trucks was more efficient, cheaper, but no where as sexy.
The load was so wide it could be seen from the cockpit.....usually almost a blur from the way it spun around.
I have also seen a pallet of lumber flying in front of the nose....almost like an Anti-Gravity machine in operation.....slack strop....and a bunch of 2x4's hanging in mid-air.
On one occasion we rained Pierced Steel Planking (PSP) from the Heavens.....oh the gyrations that stuff makes on its way down! There's several sheets in an 8,000 pound Stack of the stuff.
We were tasked with moving empty CONEX containers from some place at the northern end of our Area of Operations back kto the Long Binh Logistical base.
Empty CONEX containers are aerodynamic loads. When they lash four of the things together they make one very large aerodynamic load.
It was real fun making those runs loaded.....take off...accelerate to 35 knots....decelerate to a near hover....wait for the strop to unwind....accelerate to 35 knots.....when the strop looked like it would snap.....back to a near hover....wait for the strop to unwind....get the picture?
There was no forward airspeed above maybe ten knots that would work....and fuel endurance meant having to push the airspeed to be able to make it to the destination without running out of fuel.
After two loads were donated to the Bad Guys for bunker material....the Army finally decided putting the things on empty flat bed trucks was more efficient, cheaper, but no where as sexy.
The load was so wide it could be seen from the cockpit.....usually almost a blur from the way it spun around.
I have also seen a pallet of lumber flying in front of the nose....almost like an Anti-Gravity machine in operation.....slack strop....and a bunch of 2x4's hanging in mid-air.
On one occasion we rained Pierced Steel Planking (PSP) from the Heavens.....oh the gyrations that stuff makes on its way down! There's several sheets in an 8,000 pound Stack of the stuff.
WRT the 21k ISO off Mt Kent -YES!!!! Gust of wind gave us enough power to move it forward off its mounting, and - as they say - it was all down hill (and thank god it was a very steep downhill) from there to get sufficient speed. The arrival at Stanley was something else, but the HC1 could take a lot of extra power, albeit with an engineering inspection afterwards!
On USL stories there was the JP at Odiham that was provided for a demo at a families day mid 70's (?). The first trial flight around the airfield was quite interesting, so JATE came along and put lots of lift killing devices on it so it would stay more or less stable on the end of the strop , and a second trial was quite sucessful. Unfortunately a senior officer on his final walk through the display didn't like all the paraphernalia on the JP, and ordered a couple of airman to remove them. The first the crew (I think a Wessex) knew all was going wrong was as they started to turn towards the crowd line when the JP appeared alongside them!
On USL stories there was the JP at Odiham that was provided for a demo at a families day mid 70's (?). The first trial flight around the airfield was quite interesting, so JATE came along and put lots of lift killing devices on it so it would stay more or less stable on the end of the strop , and a second trial was quite sucessful. Unfortunately a senior officer on his final walk through the display didn't like all the paraphernalia on the JP, and ordered a couple of airman to remove them. The first the crew (I think a Wessex) knew all was going wrong was as they started to turn towards the crowd line when the JP appeared alongside them!
Last edited by Shackman; 18th Jun 2012 at 21:14. Reason: speeling
Avoid imitations
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I was flying at RAF Gutersloh with the Wing Commander Squadron Boss checking me out. The training underslung load was a couple of 45 gallon barrels full of water in a net. Having lifted the load to the hover and checked the power margin, I briefed that my intentions in the event of engine failure below single engined safe speed was to jettison the load.
On short finals, after a low level circuit in "Junkers Farm" and now below SESS, the Wg Cdr pulled back a throttle on me! (normally this was done by touch drills only, with the pilot stating / simulating his intentions. As this was a real engine failure I carried out the real drill as briefed and pressed the button!
The Boss knew what he'd done wrong as soon as the crewman called "Load Gone!" at about fifty feet agl (SPLAT!), his face was a picture
I passed my checkride but as the Boss had borrowed 18 Sqn's only training load (Wessex back then), he had some explaining to do.
On short finals, after a low level circuit in "Junkers Farm" and now below SESS, the Wg Cdr pulled back a throttle on me! (normally this was done by touch drills only, with the pilot stating / simulating his intentions. As this was a real engine failure I carried out the real drill as briefed and pressed the button!
The Boss knew what he'd done wrong as soon as the crewman called "Load Gone!" at about fifty feet agl (SPLAT!), his face was a picture
I passed my checkride but as the Boss had borrowed 18 Sqn's only training load (Wessex back then), he had some explaining to do.
I suppose this counts as an USL incident.
In 1948 Sikorsky Hoverfly Mk 1 KK978 was conducting a trial on behalf of the Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment. It was (inocently) flying around its base at RAF Beaulieu advertising an upcoming airshow by towing a 13 foot long banner on a 50 foot long weighted rope, when the rope was struck by Spitfire NH840. The Hoverfly landed OK but the Spit was Cat 5.
Would this count as an Air to Air kill? and if so, was it a first for a rotorcraft?
In 1948 Sikorsky Hoverfly Mk 1 KK978 was conducting a trial on behalf of the Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment. It was (inocently) flying around its base at RAF Beaulieu advertising an upcoming airshow by towing a 13 foot long banner on a 50 foot long weighted rope, when the rope was struck by Spitfire NH840. The Hoverfly landed OK but the Spit was Cat 5.
Would this count as an Air to Air kill? and if so, was it a first for a rotorcraft?