31 Killed in Marine Chopper Crash
31 killed in Marine chopper crash (CNN)
A U.S. Marine Corps helicopter crashed early Wednesday in western Iraq killing 31 people, military officials said. The chopper crashed near Ar Rutbah at about 1:20 a.m. local time (5:20 p.m. Tuesday ET). It was carrying personnel from the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing and the 1st Marine Division.
Military officials said a search and rescue team was at the site and an investigation of the crash was under way. The crash came as insurgents targeted multinational troops, Iraqi security forces, government offices and polling places across the country.
A shame. As I’ve noted numerous times, helicopters are dangerous even in a non-hostile environment. They do things fixed wing aircraft can’t but the price is sometimes very high.
CH-53s have a history of problems with its rotor hub. It’s a big machine and all that weight resting on that hub puts a tremendous load on it. The vibration you feel when one of those stallions is flying towards you is incredible.