Sikorsky Down – Where’s the crew?
The US military has confirmed that an H-53 Sikorsky helicopter has been shot down in the guerilla-held area between Baghdad and Fallujah. They very pointedly say that there is no indication that the crew was killed or injured. What they deo not say is that the crew has been rescued.
The Marines are claiming that the helicopter was blown up to “prevent looting.” Translation: We could not recover the helicopter or the crew.
There was no immediate word on casualties from the crash of the helicopter, which an Associated Press reporter saw burning 12 miles east of Fallujah in the village of Zawbaa. Witnesses said they saw a rocket hit the craft.
U.S. troops who converged on the site were attacked by gunmen, the reporter said. Witnesses said four U.S. soldiers were hit.
More weirdness about this helicopter crash:
FALLUJAH, Iraq (AFX) – A US MH-53 helicopter crashed southeast of here, but it was not clear how many people were aboard, a marine officer said.
The officer said the cause of the crash was not immediately known.
He said it was not a Marine Corps helicopter, but one belonging to another US government agency.
A few stories are starting to surface that claim the crew was rescued, but they are vague and contradictory.
Here’s the AP’s contribution to the “crew rescued” line:
Fallujah, Iraq-AP — A U-S Marine commander says it appears no one was injured when a military helicopter crashed outside the Iraqi city of Fallujah.
The cause of the crash is still not known. U-S troops were able to extract the crew from the wreck.
The commander says it was an H-53 Sikorski helicopter — and that after it crashed, troops exploded the wreckage to prevent looting.
About a dozen Iraqi fighters were gathered near the crash site. One told an Associated Press reporter that he’d shot the chopper down with a rocket-propelled grenade. The military still hasn’t determined the cause of the crash.
The Marine commander says the military team that secured the craft came under mortar fire and was also ambushed by gunmen as it withdrew. The team apparently suffered casualties, but details aren’t available.
Very mysterious. What “governmental agency” was on that chopper? Why would a “governmental agency” be flying a Sikorsky?
UPDATE and Correction: There appear to be two versions of this story, one referring to a MH-53 Sikorsky, which an alert and knowledgeable AntiWar reader points out is a “big heavy helicopter designed for low level penetration, typically used by Special Operations groups,” and an Apache, which is a two-man attack helicopter. Jim Henley points out in the version of this story posted on my blog, that “”Other Government Agency” (aka “OGA”) is more or less official military slang for CIA.”
The details of the accounts of the crash seem to overlap, so it is unclear whether there are two separate instances of a helicopter going down or one instance and incorrect identification of the helicopter type in the case of the stories mentioning an Apache.
U.S. Apache helicopter down outside Fallujah
Last Update: 4/13/2004 7:04:15 AMFALLUJAH, Iraq (AP) – A U.S. Apache helicopter crashed and was in flames on the ground Tuesday outside Fallujah after witnesses said it was hit by a rocket.
[…]
There was no immediate word on casualties from the crash of the helicopter, which an Associated Press reporter say burning 12 miles east of Fallujah in the village of Zawbaa. Witnesses said they saw a rocket hit the craft.U.S. troops who converged on the site were attacked by gunmen, the reporter said. Witnesses said four U.S. soldiers were hit.
I’ll update this post again when it becomes clear which version is correct. The original “Apache” headline has been edited.