Military heli down - Wantage UK
 

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Close friend saw this come down just outside Wantage today.

Saw it flying low and then just descended. Talked to the occupants who said they'd had a failure and landed ASAP. Didn't realise the ground was quite so soft.

Pah - that's nothing.

Well it won’t need chocks!

It looks like some sort of problem with the forward gearbox (as I state the obvious), but that's about the extent of my knowledge about helicopters.

I'm glad everyone is safe and apparently uninjured. An inflight gear box problem is my helicopter nightmare scenario.

Cheers,
Grog

Possibly a gearbox chip warning.

Good job they chocked it, or it might have rolled away! :ok:


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The recovery will be interesting, have witnessed at first hand a military recovery in boggy ground ....ended up with local farmers and contractors helping to pull the military recovery team out! That was 20 years ago!

Care required when starting again as the forward rotors will be very close to the ground at low RRPM.....let’s hope there’s no wind when they do it!

The article I read suggests that flying out is NOT being considered as an option.

I feel with them ;-)
Even skids can sink in - don't ask, why I know ;-)

Snag 1: Dual chip light, forward transmission

Sang 2:. Rear ramp does not open fully due to close proximity of ground

Hat, Coat, Briefcase, Roller Bag, Emergency Slide....

Seems like a sensible option if the gearbox was giving up its part of the deal 😀

In the Arctic we used to bang our Pumas into the frozen snow so that the wheels broke through the crust and nailed the fuselage to the surface, especially useful when landing on sloping ground.

We modified the lower aerials so that they pointed straight down; it looks as if they have a similar technique with the Chinook so it should just be able to pull itself out.

Simple - blades off, another Chinook to lift out as we did in the Falklands. Oh, wait a minute, can they still do buddy buddy lifts or has the weight gone up too much?

If they can't lift it out with another Chinook then recovering it would be tricky but not impossible. Build temporary road (probably wooden) across field, bring in crane and low-loader, detach rotors, lift fuselage onto low-loader, close roads and off you go - having previously found route without low bridges, removed overhead phone lines, removed traffic islands, etc etc. It's been done from time to time, eg RAF Blocks Village To Move Chinook Chopper (that was at Odiham but I think this one is from Benson) - as noted in the story there's a specialist unit that does this work, the Joint Aircraft Recovery and Transport Squadron.

Last gearbox failure I remember was one of our Puma's near Mitcheldever, and that resulted in a Landrover going out, a couple of blades being removed and the odd tail rotor blade, then the helicopter being towed back by road to Odiham with the Landy. :)

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https://fauntrackway.co.uk/defence

The portable technology enables runways and helipads to be constructed in hostile areas or environments. Providing a stable and safe location for take-off, landing, and service anywhere.

A track into the field, a pad for the crane to stand on and one for the Chinook to fly off. Rolls off the back of a lorry.

Faun Anglesey - originally Saunders Roe

You can always ask the guys of Petersfield (if I remember correctly) Golf Club about the benefits of a Chinook carrying out a precautionary landing on one of their fairways. I believe the club was eventually very happy with all the remedial work that had to be carried out to repair the damage all the MT caused!

So, top marks to some....
 

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