May 5, 2003
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Why Do U.S. Military Helicopters Keep Crashing?
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
In the beginning weeks of Operation Iraqi Freedom, as well as during the war on terrorism, military helicopter crashes and "hard landings" were a common occurrence. A number of BuzzFlash readers wrote in to comment on this, with many questioning why U.S. helicopters seemed to pose more of a threat than the enemy.
Indeed, the war with Iraq was supposed to be an "ambitious test" for the Apache helicopters, which were never used in battle in Kosovo because of logistical problems and deadly training accidents. (Bear in mind that each AH-64A Apache costs at least $14 million, according to Jane’s Information Group and the U.S. Army. The newer version, the Longbow, costs about $18 million.)
The news media also began to raise questions -- and tried to provide answers. "Series of crashes highlights the vulnerability of copters," read a March 23, 2003 Boston Globe headline. "For soldiers, the crashes served as reminders that helicopters - the workhorses they rely on for quick delivery into and out of hostile areas, as well as countless more mundane operations - are delicate crafts whose stability can be easily affected by changes in weather and visibility and sudden maneuvers."
The Washington Post reported April 4: "After a spell of bad weather and hasty repairs, many of the high-tech Apaches attached to the Army's 11th Aviation Regiment are once again in the thick of war. But they are flying more cautious missions than the long-distance ones envisioned for the world's most advanced attack helicopters."
Writing in May 2002, James Ridgeway of the Village Voice may have been one of the first columnists to question the number of aircraft-related deaths in Afghanistan: "Could the lack of adequate maps have played a role? Were the deaths from poor training or musty equipment? One Pentagon spokesperson declined to comment. Another said the number of crashes didn't seem unusual to him," wrote Ridgeway.
"Helicopters hate dust, and there's plenty of it in Afghanistan," was the title of this Stars and Stripes story from Feb. 21, 2002. Dust and sandstorms were mentioned as contributing causes to helicopter malfunctions in Iraq, as well.
You just have to wonder: Didn't the military commanders know this would be a problem? Has the amount of sand increased so much since the 1991 Persian Gulf War that no one thought, gee, maybe helicopters aren't reliable for the sort of desert missions the military has planned?
The age of the helicopters was also frequently cited in the press: The CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter that crashed in Kuwait, killing 12 American and British soldiers, "was part of an aging U.S. Marine Corps fleet that is long overdue for retirement,"according to the Orlando Sentinel (via Stars and Stripes). "The CH-46 went out of production in 1971 and was scheduled to be phased out by 1999. But safety problems with its replacement, the V-22 Osprey, has the future of both helicopters in limbo. That leaves the marines with no choice but to keep flying their fleet of nearly 300 CH-46s into combat, where they are used primarily to transport troops and equipment."
(As an aside, Stars and Stripes reported in February, 2003 that by fiscal 2009, "the [Marine] Corps hopes to buy 117 of the Osprey for a total of $9.9 billion." Yes, folks, $9.9 billion -- even though the Osprey has been blamed for dozens of deaths and there have been charges of misconduct concerning the investigation into the troubled Osprey. "I've got some real problems with this airplane," Edward "Pete" Aldridge, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, logistics and technology, told defense reporters last August. "I'm probably the most skeptical person in the Defense Department at this time on the V-22." Knowing this doesn't raise performance expectations now, does it?)
Even amid all the controversy, some people aren't convinced that the military needs to take a hard look the role of helicopters: "In no uncertain terms are the rates we’re experiencing for all types of airframes out of the ordinary," Lt. Col. Benjamin Moody, the executive assistant for the Marine Corps' safety division, told Stars and Stripes April 7, referring to the number of helicopter accidents that occurred during the war with Iraq. "We’re doing fantastic," said Marine Col. David Kerrick, deputy commander of Naval Safety Center in Norfolk, Va.
Fortunately, however, not everyone’s buying that line.
Fred Kaplan, who’s been providing military analysis for Slate, called for reducing funding for the Longbow and the RAH-66 Comanche helicopter in this April 31 article. In a previous article, "Chop the Chopper," he wrote: "With [Secretary of Defense Donald] Rumsfeld's star rising and the generals' tarnished, he can be expected to mount a new offensive on their bureaucratic turf at the first opportunity. He might want to start by junking the Army's attack helicopter. The current version, the AH-64D Apache Longbow, is in many ways a vast improvement over earlier models, but it is still too dangerous to the pilots who fly it and not dangerous enough to the enemy it's designed to attack."
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
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For more information: See the U.S. Army aviation accident statistics for the current fiscal year. Class A accidents -- those in which damage exceeds $1 million or results in a fatality -- are up 60 percent over last year. The Navy and the Marines are also having off years, according to military data.
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HELICOPTER FATALITES: 2001- 2003
U.S. Helicopter Fatalities
-- Due to Accidents Related to War on Terrorism/Operation Iraqi Freedom
2001-2003: 43
-- Due to Accidents, Other Parts of the World (noted with **): 14
Total: 57
U.S. Helicopter Fatalities
-- Due to Enemy Fire 2001-2003: 7
BuzzFlash has researched these incidents to the best of its ability, but may have overlooked something. If so, please let us know so we can provide the most accurate count.
* * *
Fatalities Due to Accidents
2003
Date: April 4, 2003
Place: Iraq
Number Killed: 2
Copter: AH-1W Super Cobra (U.S. Marines)
Mission: combat operations
Cause: under investigation
More: http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2411441p-2245183c.html
Date: April 2, 2003
Place: Iraq
Number Killed: 6 (4 others injured)
Copter: UH-60 Black Hawk (U.S. Army)
Mission: providing guidance to ground forces
Cause: under investigation: some initial reports indicated it was shot
down by small arms fire near city of Karbala; mechanical trouble or friendly
fire were later mentioned as possible causes
More: http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=13721&archive=true
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,929365,00.html
Date: March 30, 2003
Place: Iraq
Number Killed: 3 (1 other injured)
Copter: UH-1 N Huey (U.S. Marines)
Mission: combat operations
Cause: crashed on takeoff in southern Iraq after refueling
More: http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2003/04/04marinerecalleda.html
Date: March 23, 2003
Place: Afghanistan
Number Killed: 6
Copter: HH-60G Pave Hawk (U.S. Air Force)
Mission: medical evacuation
Cause: under investigation
More: Article Link
Date: March 21, 2003
Place: Kuwait
Number Killed: 12 (4 American, 8 British)
Copter: CH-46E (U.S. Marine)
Mission: assault on Iraq's Faw peninsula
Cause: under investigation
More: http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/reuters20030321_131.html
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=13210&archive=true
Date: March 11, 2003 **
Place: Fort Drum Army post, New York
Number Killed: 11
Copter: Black Hawk (U.S. Army)
Mission: routine training exercise
Cause: under investigation
More: http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Northeast/03/14/soldiers.memorial.ap/index.html
Date: Feb. 25, 2003
Place: Kuwait
Number Killed: 4
Copter: UH-60 Black Hawk
Mission: practicing use of night-vision goggles in desert
Cause: under investigation; weather conditions listed as windy and dusty
More: http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=12742&archive=true
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=12756&archive=true
Date: Jan. 30, 2003
Place: Afghanistan
Number Killed: 4
Copter: MH-60 Black Hawk (U.S. Army)
Mission: nighttime training
Cause: under investigation
More: http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/central/01/31/helicopter.crash/
2002
Date: Aug. 21, 2002 **
Place: South Korea
Number Killed: 2
Copter: AH-64 Apache (U.S. Army)
Mission: training flight; en route to base camp when copter disappeared
Cause: under investigation; chopper slammed into hillside above a car
tunnel
More: http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=9641&archive=true
(This crash followed an Aug. 1 crash in South Korea in which the two-member
crew survived, but the AH-64D Longbow helicopter caught fire and burned:
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=9342&archive=true)
Date: Feb. 22, 2002
Place: southern Philippines
Number Killed: 10 (8 soldiers, 2 Air Force members)
Copter: MH-47E Chinook (Special Ops Airborne)
Mission: en route to Mactan air base, logistics base for anti-terrorist
training operation, after flying troops and supplies from bases to staging
areas on Basilan island
Cause: under investigation
More: http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=6578&archive=true
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=6770&archive=true
Date: Jan. 20, 2002
Place: Afghanistan
Number Killed: 2 (5 others injured)
Copter: CH53 Echo (U.S. Marines)
Mission: re-supply mission
Cause: Rumsfeld says on "Meet the Press" it appears to be due to "a mechanical
problem"
More: http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=5463&archive=true
http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/central/01/20/helicopter.crash/
2001
Date: Oct. 19, 2001
Place: Pakistan
Number Killed: 2
Copter: Blackhawk (U.S. Army)
Mission: waiting in Pakistani airspace to provide rescue help, if needed,
for about 100 commandos raiding Taliban complexes near Kandahar
Cause: under investigation, swirling dust thought to be cause
More: http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=4446&archive=true
Date: Oct. 11, 2001 **
Place: Poland
Number Killed: 1 (co-pilot injured)
Copter: AH-64 Apache
Mission: routine training mission, part of Victory Strike II, a V Corps
attack-helicopter training exercise.
Cause: under investigation, copter made a "hard landing"
More: http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=4244&archive=true
* * *
Fatalities Due to Enemy Fire
Date: March 4, 2002
Place: Afghanistan
Number Killed: 6 (approximately 11 injured)
Copter: MH-47
Mission: Operation Anaconda (offensive combat with Al Qaeda and Taliban)
Cause: small-arms fire caused copter to make a "hard landing"; deaths
may have been the result of gunfire that occurred after landing
Date: March 4, 2002
Place: Afghanistan
Number Killed: 1
Copter: MH-47
Mission: Operation Anaconda (offensive combat with Al Qaeda and Taliban)
Cause: A grenade bounced off the helicopter when it was airborne, and
one soldier fell to his death
More: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/march02/helicopter_3-4.html
http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/central/03/04/ret.afghan.fighting/
POWs Captured As Result Of Enemy Fire
Date: March 24, 2003
Place: Iraq
Number Captured: 2
Copter: Apache
Mission: nighttime combat
Cause: small-arms fire, rocket-propelled grenades
More: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/24/international/worldspecial/24CND-HELI.html
"With a hail of small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades, Iraqi
forces downed two Apache helicopters today and forced 30 other helicopters
in their brigade back to their base. … All 32 helicopters sustained some
damage, occasionally slight, Army officials said, in what was a significant
setback for the allies."
