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Brit Chinook pilot shot in face, lands helo, gets DFC.
- Thread starter nittany03
- Start date
I was wondering the same thing, though, I imagine if the bird was shot up as badly as they say...all hands were needed to get that shithook back on the ground safely.
I don't mean to be a prick, but that video was the first time I saw the actual injury and it didn't look all that bad. His calm demeanor is laudable, but let's be serious would the outcome be any different with any other pilot? Obviously the reporter was put in a place he wasn't mentally ready to handle, but crews getting shot at in the Helmand province is not really all that unusual.
To be clear I'm not banging on the guy, he did a good job under pressure. But I'd bet if you asked him about it, he'd shrug and say something like: "I did what I had to do, and it's better to be lucky than good." If anything it's a better indication of the quality of aviation professionals the Brits are fielding in the IRT/MERT role.
To be clear I'm not banging on the guy, he did a good job under pressure. But I'd bet if you asked him about it, he'd shrug and say something like: "I did what I had to do, and it's better to be lucky than good." If anything it's a better indication of the quality of aviation professionals the Brits are fielding in the IRT/MERT role.
It's the "Wheeler Dealer" bloke, guess he is a popular TV host in the UK? During an OIF rotation, my Dash 2 took a few rounds to the copilots windshield, 2 MR blades and bullet fragments under his and the gunner's seat. Windshield glass cut his lip pretty bad, but the main issue was the bullet hit his ICS box, disabling comms with the rest of the crew. As mentioned in the vid, an inch here or there would resulted in a different outcome entirely.
As I said, not judging the guy. He did an outstanding job and deserves commendation, just saying the accolades of "GIANT BRASS BALLS" seem a bit overkill to me. As highside7r alluded to, there are plenty of stories of guys getting shot and pressing. Just this last summer an Army DUSTOFF crew tried three times to hoist a patient off a hillside, yet got shot-up on every attempt something like 25 bullet holes in all. Big balls for sure, stupid but still big balls.
During our rotation in OEF we had 58's as Dustoff escorts . During one hoist mission one of our Dustoff birds started taking rounds and and the 58 rolled in on the gun position to protect dustoff. Both pilots took rounds; One in the leg the other in the head. The pilot hit in the leg was able to get the aircraft on the ground. The dustoff crew than evaced the 58 crew. Due to the actions of those 58 pilots a lot of peolpe were saved that day. Now that is brass balls.
Good read about the OH-58 guys. I don't claim to know anything about their job, but the article definitely backs up them having brass balls.
http://www.mensjournal.com/americas-new-cavalry
http://www.mensjournal.com/americas-new-cavalry
And the older models were horribly under powered, though the D models supposedly have fixed that problem.
And it sounds like the Army is recapping them again with new Fox models. Partially for more capability, and partially to replace all of the ones they lost in OEF/OIF. From the stories I've read, those guys so some crazy stuff.
In OIF 2/3, we had a pair escorting all of our ammunition convoys. Let me tell you, it was a welcome sight to see those guys overhead. And yes, you're right Synix, they did some crazy stuff. They'd put themselves between you and the enemy, and suppressed the problem while you got out of harm's way. I'm grateful for what they did, and they sure earned their pay, in my mind.