Mi-8 Went Down In January
This weekend, a coalition recovery team retrieved the remains of
seven international aid workers who were killed when their
helicopter crashed in eastern Afghanistan last January, military
officials reported.
As reported in Aero-News, the
Turkmenistan Airlines MI-8 HIP, chartered by the International
Committee of the Red Cross for a humanitarian mission in Pakistan,
disappeared over Afghan airspace January 20 after the helicopter
departed from Peshawar Airfield in Pakistan en route to
Turkmenabad, Turkmenistan. Seven persons were onboard.
Transportation officials from Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and
Pakistan have searched for the missing helicopter since its
disappearance. The aircraft, located June 1 by local Afghan
villagers, crashed along the eastern side of an extremely steep and
rocky mountain, just north of Alasai village in Kapisa
Province.
Upon learning of the discovery, the coalition immediately began
preparations for a recovery mission.
"We sent an elite High Altitude, High Angle Rescue and Recovery
Team consisting of Turkmenistan recovery experts and coalition
ground forces to the crash site to facilitate the investigation and
recovery," said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley, commander
of Combined Joint Task Force 76.
Turkmenistan officials initially traveled to Kabul to request
assistance for the recovery operation. Due to the high altitude and
remote location of the crash site, U.S. forces were asked to assist
in the recovery mission.
"Ultimately, on June 6 or 7, we were officially asked to perform
this mission," said US Army Maj. C. Eric Benson, director of the
CJTF 76 rescue coordination center. "We alerted our rescue team and
began detailed planning within the organization."
The High Altitude, High
Angle Rescue and Recovery Team is the reason why the US "is the
only country in theater with the specific skill set and capability
to conduct this type of mission," said Benson. "It's not simply a
matter of having an aircraft with the capability; it's a matter of
being able to link a specialized air crew with a specialized ground
crew."
The recovery team -- consisting of seven specialized US
parajumpers, a US surgeon, and two Turkmenistan recovery experts --
endured many hazards during the successful operation, including
steep and rugged terrain, difficult weather conditions and an
altitude of about 12,500 feet, requiring the recovery team to take
a special medication starting 48 hours prior to the mission to
prevent acute mountain sickness.
Since the crash occurred on a steep ridgeline, the recovery team
was forced to land about one kilometer from the crash site.
Carrying the equipment necessary for the operation, the recovery
team's trek toward the site was made more difficult due to the high
altitude and rough terrain, said Kosmowski.
After working continuously for four and a half hours at the
site, the team successfully recovered the remains of all seven aid
workers.