Brit Chinook pilot shot in face, lands helo, gets DFC.

[nittany03]

Brit helo pilot takes face shot. Literally.

This guy took a round to the NVG mount. A literal face shot. And still RTBed and got his pax out of harm's way. This crew oughta at least get DFCs.

http://www.news.com.au/world/britis...save-20-soldiers/story-e6frfkyr-1225837442852

 

[Ken_gone_flying]

Thats quite a story. Just wasn't his time.

 

[picklesuit]

What a stud...hard to believe it was the first time a pilot was shot while in the air in Afghanistan...

 

[...aywkubttod]

Holy crap. Anybody else watch Auto Traderor Wheeler Dealers on Discovery HD Theatre? Mike Brewer is not exactly the kind of guy you would expect to see on combat television.

 

[ea6bflyr]

Fortune was on his side....recommended call sign: GOOD. (See story for last name)

-ea6bflyr

 

[FlyingOnFumes]

Is he going to be the newest guy to earn the callsign "MJ"? (Mary Jo)...

 

[nugget61]

Excuse my ignorance and not trying to take anything away from the Flt-Lt, but:

"If the bullet had hit the pilot a millimetre lower, those on board wouldn't have stood a chance."

Do they not fly with another pilot who could have taken control?

 

[phrogdriver]

Excuse my ignorance and not trying to take anything away from the Flt-Lt, but:



Do they not fly with another pilot who could have taken control?

Someone else with more knowledges will have to help out with specifics, but I remember being briefed that the copilot on many British helos really acts as more of a Nav/NFO than as a true copilot, i.e. he rarely, if ever, gets the controls. That's part of the reason they actually come abeam the spot and slide perpendicularly to the ship to land, vice on the 45-deg as we do. Now, whether he's a pilot working up to aircraft commander or a true navigator, I'm not sure.

Saying they "wouldn't have stood a chance" might be hyperbole, but passenger safety definitely takes a beating if one of the pilots is dead, whether that's because he's shot or because he ate the fish...

 

[Flash]

Someone else with more knowledges will have to help out with specifics, but I remember being briefed that the copilot on many British helos really acts as more of a Nav/NFO than as a true copilot, i.e. he rarely, if ever, gets the controls. That's part of the reason they actually come abeam the spot and slide perpendicularly to the ship to land, vice on the 45-deg as we do. Now, whether he's a pilot working up to aircraft commander or a true navigator, I'm not sure.

That is the general practice in the Royal Navy, the 'copilot' is actually an Observer, their equivalent of NFO/Nav's. From their description of the Chinook it appears that the RAF does use WSO's in helos as well as flying them dual-piloted. Their description of RAF WSO training doesn't have helos as an option though, not sure why the discrepancy between the two.

 

[nittany03]

Seems to me, based on their site, that they use both copilots and WSOs in different situations. The news articles mentioned him having a co-pilot. but we all know the media's propensity to F away anything aviation related.

 

[rare21]

Since he's British I hope he gets the equivalent or better than our medal that would serve him. Heroes abound...

 

[phrogpilot73]

That is the general practice in the Royal Navy, the 'copilot' is actually an Observer, their equivalent of NFO/Nav's.

It is not the general practice of the entire Royal Navy. The Commando Helicopter Force flies with two pilots, not with a pilot and an observer.

 

[Uncle Fester]

Well, in our Navy, he'd get a NAM (after downgrading from a Comm because of the awards quota in his squadron and CAG didn't feel like sending the paperwork for anything higher upstream). And the paperwork would get lost twice.

 

[Birdog8585]

That Brit's a freakin Warrior. Anybody got a release date on that documentary? Should be interesting.

 

[nittany03]

Certifiably badass.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepag...lls-passengers-hes-been-shot-in-the-head.html