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Chinook crash kills 7 soldiers in Iraq
By Gina Cavallaro - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Sep 18, 2008 7:15:02 EDT
A helicopter crash in southern Iraq claimed the lives of seven soldiers, the Army announced in a news release late Wednesday.
The crash marked the first time in a year that a helicopter crash in Iraq claimed U.S. lives, and only the third time in Iraq that a Chinook has had a fatal incident.
According to the Multi-National Corps-Iraq release, a CH-47 Chinook helicopter made a hard landing around 12:01 a.m. Thursday, about 65 miles west of Basra.
The CH-47 Chinook helicopter did not come under attack, the military said. It believes the crash was an accident.
“At this time we are uncertain of the cause, but hostile fire has been ruled out,” military spokesman Maj. John Hall said.
The heavy-lift helicopter was part of an “aerial convoy” that was flying from Kuwait to Balad, about 45 miles north of Baghdad, when it made the landing.
“The other three helicopters in the flight did not have incident or injury,” Hall said.
A quick-reaction force was dispatched from Basra and a road convoy in the area was diverted to the scene, the release said.
The last time a Chinook went down in Iraq was August 2007, during a routine post-maintenance check flight west of Baghdad near Al Taqqadum air base. Five soldiers were killed in that crash.
In November 2003, a Chinook carrying soldiers to a rest-and-recuperation break took off from Fallujah and was brought down by enemy fire. Sixteen soldiers died in the attack and more than two dozen others were wounded.
The names of the soldiers killed in the latest attack were withheld pending notification of next of kin. The incident is under investigation.
By Gina Cavallaro - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Sep 18, 2008 7:15:02 EDT
A helicopter crash in southern Iraq claimed the lives of seven soldiers, the Army announced in a news release late Wednesday.
The crash marked the first time in a year that a helicopter crash in Iraq claimed U.S. lives, and only the third time in Iraq that a Chinook has had a fatal incident.
According to the Multi-National Corps-Iraq release, a CH-47 Chinook helicopter made a hard landing around 12:01 a.m. Thursday, about 65 miles west of Basra.
The CH-47 Chinook helicopter did not come under attack, the military said. It believes the crash was an accident.
“At this time we are uncertain of the cause, but hostile fire has been ruled out,” military spokesman Maj. John Hall said.
The heavy-lift helicopter was part of an “aerial convoy” that was flying from Kuwait to Balad, about 45 miles north of Baghdad, when it made the landing.
“The other three helicopters in the flight did not have incident or injury,” Hall said.
A quick-reaction force was dispatched from Basra and a road convoy in the area was diverted to the scene, the release said.
The last time a Chinook went down in Iraq was August 2007, during a routine post-maintenance check flight west of Baghdad near Al Taqqadum air base. Five soldiers were killed in that crash.
In November 2003, a Chinook carrying soldiers to a rest-and-recuperation break took off from Fallujah and was brought down by enemy fire. Sixteen soldiers died in the attack and more than two dozen others were wounded.
The names of the soldiers killed in the latest attack were withheld pending notification of next of kin. The incident is under investigation.
