U.S. probing reports of Iraq copter crash (possibly 2)

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The military said Friday it was investigating reports of a U.S. helicopter going down north of Baghdad.

The statement came after police and witnesses reported that at least one helicopter had been shot down Friday in the area surrounding Taji, an air base 12 miles north of the capital. Some witnesses described two helicopters going down.

"I can confirm that we are looking into reports that a helicopter went down north of Baghdad," U.S. military spokeswoman Lt. Col. Josslyn Aberle said.

link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070202/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_helicopter_1

BAGHDAD, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. military in Iraq said it was checking reports from Iraqi police and residents that a helicopter came down just north of Baghdad on Friday.

"We're looking at reports of a possible aircraft down," a spokeswoman, Lieutenant Colonel Josslyn Aberle said, when asked about reports from residents near Taji that they saw a helicopter come down shortly after dawn.

A source at Baghdad police headquarters said the police had been told by the Iraqi army that a U.S. helicopter had come down and that U.S. troops had sealed the area.

U.S. embassy spokesman Lou Fintor said: "At this point, we're looking into the reports."

More: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/MAC226520.htm
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/MAC225578.htm

a huge racketeering enterprise that marks their products up thousands, and even tens of thousands, of percent -- products that people NEED to maintain their health and, often, their life . . .

the people running these companies should all be prosecuted for racketeering, and the industry should be STRICTLY regulated, including price controls . . . but since they contribute so liberally to Congress . . . :shrug:

their helicopters over Taji, though. ;)

You know they know darn well whether or not they have a helicopter down.

It was an Apache and was shot down according to Iraqi officials.

No link yet, just a scroll.

The military said it was investigating reports that a U.S. helicopter went down Friday north of Baghdad, while U.S. forces said they killed 18 insurgents after coming under attack in a volatile city west of the capital.

(snip)
Witnesses and local police said two helicopters were flying together Friday morning when gunmen opened fire, downing one of the aircraft near Taji, an air base 12 miles north of Baghdad.

"I can confirm that we are looking into reports that a helicopter went down north of Baghdad," U.S. military spokeswoman Lt. Col. Josslyn Aberle said.

Some witnesses described two helicopters going down, but police said only that the wreckage from one aircraft had been found near a fuel storage complex in the rural area of Mashhada, near Taji.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070202/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

U.S. helicopter down north of Baghdad; no word on fate of crew
BAGHDAD (CNN) -- Another U.S. helicopter went down in Iraq, this time north of Baghdad near Taji early Friday, the U.S. military said.

It is the fourth U.S. helicopter to go down in two weeks in Iraq. They include another Apache, a Blackhawk, and a helicopter used by the Blackwater USA, a security contractor.

There is no word yet on the fate of the crew, and the Pentagon cannot yet say whether the AH-64 Apache was shot down or crashed.

But an official with Iraq's Interior Ministry told CNN said it went down when it came under insurgent fire. The official said Iraqi soldiers saw the chopper fall from the sky after an insurgent attack.

The crashes pose a concern for the coalition in Iraq -- where helicopter usage is omnipresent. It could signal growing sophistication among insurgents bent on shooting down aircraft.

link: http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/02/02/friday/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/02/02/iraq.main/index.html

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A U.S. Apache helicopter went down in Iraq on Friday, Pentagon officials said, the fourth helicopter to crash in two weeks.

The U.S. officials could not say whether the AH-64 crashed or was brought down by insurgent fire or whether there were casualties....


I hate how this is reported here. Obviously, the importance of the value of this 4th helicopter is being cited as more important than its crew or passengers. Boo/hoo, all that money for the equipment. Come on, CNN, copters don't fly themselves and it doesn't exactly sound like this was a case of a soft landing. We have the most sophisticated communications systems and yet human casualties in the incident cannot be confirmed, estimated, or acknowledged. :grr:

How could they possible NOT know if a chopper went down? Don't they have air conrollers over there? Wouldn't the chopper units notice one of their birds not responding on the radio and not showing up back at base after the mission?

BULLSHIT