What is with this, it seems like we can't go anywhere without crashing a helicopter.

[url]http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,46226,00.html[/url]

Edited to fix the URL (sorry didn't verify it worked the first time because the site was too slow!)

SNorman:



Because we have some bold aviators in Spec Ops (and the other services) who risk flying when others will not.  Some units/nations will only fly when conditions are perfect.

You DID see BHD, did you not?

Is this what you guys are trying to do?

[url]http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,46226,00.html[/url]

it is true that we have some great, brave people. its also true that those CH47's are damn sure old, over worked, and under maintained. with our clintonized military that has been making due the best that they can for 8 years. i think we will have a lot of equipment failures in the next few months. i just hope we don't start the korean war, iraq war, and iran war to soon! China will wait for us to have a full plate, then blitzkreg taiwan before we can do anything!

I'm not knocking the Ops guys, but it's a fact that our helicopters keep crashing!  It seems like it's just a given now to lose a certain amount of choppers to accidents.  I've read BHD, not seen the movie yet.  But, of course they were shot down, as opposed to just simply crashing.  

use2b:

I ride those "CH47's are damn sure old, over worked, and under maintained".

It was a MH-47E, not a CH-47.  World of difference.  Different aircraft, different crews, different maintenance.  Not disputing the second part of your comment.

SNorman:

Our helicopters and airplanes have been crashing for years with predictable regularity.  It is part of the normal background noise on page 42.  You just never noticed till the media made it page 1.

We also don't normally get to fly the number of hours we have been lately.  I am relatively certain that the Class A accidents per flight hour are constant.

Easiest way to stop all of this is to quit flying.  Course, when you do start up again, rates will likely be higher, since you are out of practice.

odobo:

Same.  Soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines dying every day.  Airplanes crash every day.  Just little notice till now.

MH-47E
F/A 18D
UH-1N
Crush Injury
AH-64A
5T. Cargo Truck
M113
CH-53E
KC-130
Small Arms Fire
Misdirected Aerial Ordnance

Maybe I'm missing something, but what is the common factor you see here?  That humans were involved in all of the losses?  Two month period of combat and high intensity operations, especially flight ops, several people killed.  Is that a surprise?

No disrespect here, but we have a LOT of 18 year old kids and a mix of high tech and OLD equipment/weapons/ordnance designed to kill people, with combat operations.  We get people killed doing this every day, and have been for years.

SNorman,
it is the desire of every helicopter built to crash.  Helicopters have no desire to fly.
Throw in some scud weather, maybe a little ground-fire and maybe a mechanical or two and you have crashes.

SNorman, what is your point here ??

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