Friday, July 14, 2006

Apache Down...Pilots Rescued

I'm sure we'll hear a lot more about this in the future...wait what the hell am I thinking. I guess I'll just wait for the book to come out. In the meantime here's a little bit about the crash of an Apache in Iraq and the rescue of the crew from today's Killeen Daily Herald.

4th Infantry general praises rescuers


By Debbie Stevenson
Killeen Daily Herald

A senior general in the 4th Infantry Division in Iraq praised the pilots and their rescuers after the crash of an Apache helicopter gunship Thursday in an insurgent hotbed southwest of Baghdad.

Both pilots escaped unharmed from the wreckage and were rescued within minutes by a helicopter crew flying nearby.

"The great skill and quick reactions of the pilots enabled them to walk away," said Brig. Gen. David Haverson, the 4th Infantry's assistant division commander for support.

The pilots from the 4th Infantry's Multinational Division-Baghdad crashed about 2 p.m. local time. Within 10 minutes, both were on board a Black Hawk helicopter from the 101st Airborne Division that had come to their aid, a division news release stated.

The Apache pilots were taken to nearby medical facilities and returned to duty later that day, the release stated.

Ground troops from the 101st Airborne's 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, quickly secured the crash site and assisted in the recovery of the Apache, the Army's premier attack helicopter.

"This incident has shown what great teamwork is all about," Halverson said. "Coalition forces brought expertise from all areas and displayed that warrior ethos – in record time – to recover our pilots and begin recovery of their aircraft."

The cause of the crash remained unknown Thursday, said Lt. Col. Jonathan Withington, the division's spokesman, in an e-mail from Baghdad.

The rest can be found HERE
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