Author Topic: Whoops! £46m Apache helicopter from Prince Harry's unit crash lands (Read 396 times)

wannable · « **on:** February 22, 2012, 10:27:59 PM »

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Two Army pilots from Prince Harry’s military base had a lucky escape last night when they crashed a £46m Apache helicopter into a 132,000-volt power line.
The attack helicopter clipped the overhead line while the pair flew a night-flying exercise, around 15 miles from their airfield base at Wattisham, Suffolk.
The two-man crew were able to make an emergency landing in a field between the villages of Wherstead and Tattingstone, near Ipswich, and were able to escape injury.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: 'We can confirm an incident has occurred involving an Army helicopter from Wattisham and there was no injury to those on board.

'We would not confirm the names of the people who were on board the helicopter.'

Prince Harry is not believed to have been involved in the Apache crash.

The Apache gunship, nicknamed the ‘flying tank’ is known to be very difficult to fly - and only the very best pilots ever complete the training course.

With a top speed of 161mph the Apache is relatively slow - but the onboard systems are so sophisticated it can classify and prioritise up to 256 potential targets in seconds.

The Army owns 67 Apaches and has 55 crews of two pilots. They have become the aircraft of choice for fighting the Taliban.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2104745/Apache-chopper-Prince-Harrys-helicopter-unit-crash-lands-hitting-power-lines.html#ixzz1n9jqlF11

Clearly 2 of them aren't prepared to go to Afghanistan. Will the MOD ever disclose the names?

DayDream · « **Reply #1 on:** February 23, 2012, 12:14:53 AM »

Glad to hear that no one was injured! A bit of a costly crash mind you ...

wannable · « **Reply #2 on:** February 23, 2012, 12:19:20 AM »

The Dail Mail has published in the past names of the pilot (s) in MOD aircraft accidents. Not sure what's cooking and why this time there's a non-disclosure.

NotWaitieKatie · « **Reply #3 on:** February 23, 2012, 12:24:33 AM »

If Harry was onboard, he would be blamed just because it's him. But he is just a co-pilot so I don't think he would have been flying it.

Mike · « **Reply #4 on:** February 23, 2012, 01:51:18 AM »

Before we assign blame for the incident, let's wait to get all the facts, at least those the MOD is willing to release. Flying low at night heightens the risk factor tremendously. A mechanical fault could have been the cause as well as pilot error.

From the article:

Quote

Night-flying is particularly challenging as rather than using night-vision goggles, pilots rely on forward looking infra-red which creates a video-screen picture of what lies ahead.

It's interesting to me in newspaper stories like this to see the monetary cost in the leading headlines. You have to read down into the article to find out about the crew.

Lothwen · « **Reply #5 on:** February 23, 2012, 02:28:30 AM »

^I agree Mike. Even the best-trained pilots can have accidents-that's why they're called "accidents."

The thing is, this would be a big headline even without Prince Harry's name put in it. Putting his name in the headlines makes it seem like the plane crashed because of him.

Eri · « **Reply #6 on:** February 23, 2012, 07:21:13 AM »

Why put Prince Harry's name in this?

Mike · « **Reply #7 on:** February 23, 2012, 06:19:06 PM »

Putting his name in the headlines sells more papers. It's all about money.

Flying at night is dangerous for anyone.

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