Iraq: Chinook Downed By Shoulder-Fired Missile | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-04.14.25

Airborne-NextGen-04.15.25

AirborneUnlimited-04.16.25

Airborne-AffordableFliers-04.17.25

SunnFun-DayFour-04.03.25

Mon, Nov 03, 2003

Iraq: Chinook Downed By Shoulder-Fired Missile

At Least 15 Dead Near Fallujah

"It does appear that a U.S. helicopter was probably shot down from the ground and it crashed, and a large number of Americans, possibly 12, 13, maybe more even have died," Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said in Washington.

That was the word after an Iraqi rebel, firing a shoulder-mounted weapon, downed a CH-47 Chinook Sunday as it carried weary soldiers to some well-deserved R&R. At last count, 15 soldiers had been killed, at least 20 were wounded. Together with two other attacks on American forces on a day declared by Iraqi guerrillas as a "day of resistance," the shoot-down made Sunday the deadliest day there since March.

"Our initial report is that they were being transported to BIA for R&R flights," said a military  spokeswoman in Baghdad. She said some of the troops killed in the missile strike came from Camp Ridgway, believed to be an 82nd Airborne Division base in western Iraq.

Witnesses reported two missiles had been fired from a grove of palm trees as the Chinook passed close by.  The profile of the missiles' ascent indicated they were heat-seekers, zeroing in on the helicopter's exhaust ports. Under Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi army had a large inventory of SA-7 Strelas.

Fallujah resident Yassin Mohamed said he heard an explosion, then ran out of his house, a half-mile away. "I saw the Chinook burning. I ran toward it because I wanted to help put out the fire, but couldn't get near because of American soldiers."

"This was a new lesson from the resistance, a lesson to the greedy aggressors," one resident of Fallujah told reporters, refusing to give his name. "They'll never be safe until they get out of our country," he said.

"In a long, hard war, we're going to have tragic days, as this is," Rumsfeld told ABC's "This Week." "But they're necessary. They're part of a war that's difficult and complicated."

Speaking on CNN the day before the shoot-down, America's top civil administrator, Paul Bremmer, said of the military situation, "It's getting worse in the sense that as today we've seen that the enemies of freedom there are using more sophisticated techniques to attack our forces."

FMI: www.army.mil

Advertisement

More News

NTSB Prelim: PPHU Ekolot KR-030 Topaz

Pilot Stated That He Did Not Recall Any Aspects Of The Accident Sequence On April 8, 2025, about 1308 central daylight time, a PPHU Ekolot KR-030 Topaz light sport airplane, N568RD>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (04.20.25): Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN)

Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN) An ultra-high frequency electronic rho-theta air navigation aid which provides suitably equipped aircraft a continuous indication of bearing and dis>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (04.20.25)

Aero Linx: Flying Wings of Louisiana Rusty Lavergne is the founder of Flying Wings of Louisiana along with his wife and co-founder, Kelly Lavergne. Rusty is a former Army Blackhawk>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (04.20.25)

“Despite this development, we strongly encourage WestJet management to work with ALPA pilot representatives to find more practical solutions for attracting and retaining skil>[...]

Airborne 04.21.25: Charter Bust, VeriJet Woes, Visual Approach Risks

Also: Sun Country CEO to Spirit, Indian AF Rafale Jets, Archer-United, Avflight Grows Federal prosecutors recently filed a lawsuit against an uncertified charter flight company and>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC