I've been thinking about the news stories that talked about losses our armed forces are suffering in Iraq. I've noticed that a large number of the U.S. losses have come as the result of helicopter crashes. A commentator on the radio today said something like half of our losses for this month were because of helicopter crashes. I don't have verification on that number, but I do know there seems to be an inordinate number of deaths due to crashes. I know that the recent one was hit by an grenade launcher, but many of them are just crashes.
download ReamonI'm curious about why there are so many of those. I know that we have the best trained and most skilled pilots in the world, so why do we lose so many men and women to crashes? Is it just the inherent danger of helicopters? Is it that our fleet is old? Are they in need of maintenence because we don't fight many sustained engagements like we're in now? Does the sand and desert in Iraq cause problems with helicopters? Is it a combination of some or all of these?
I would love to hear from any readers that are in the military or are experts in this type of aviation. Any readers who are married (hint hint) to military personnel, if you could ask them and see if they have anything to offer as well, I'd appreciate it. I'm going to send some emails to people I know or whose blogs I read that may be able to offer some answers, but the more answers I get the better. Any of you who know bloggers that might be able to help with this question, I'm not asking for traffic here. If you just ask them and email me or comment with what they tell you, I'd appreciate it. Of course if they want to come and comment themselves, that's even better.
I really want to understand. Maybe the loses we're seeing to helicopter crashes are completely normal in a military engagement of this length and I just don't realize it. I'm certainly no military historian.. Thanks for your help.
Hmmm...where to start. Actually, the UH-60 Blackhawk was originally nicknamed the Crashhawk when it was first fielded. But I think what we're seeing is problably more of a combination of circumstances. Additionally, it's a numbers thing as well, as the aircraft have become more ubiquitous on the battlespace, we're seeing the number of crashes increase. And because the helicopters hold more passengers, the crashes tend to take a higher toll. We have also had a high number of wheeled vehicle crashes but probably haven't noticed because the chances of walking away from a wreck are much better than a downed aircraft. I don't think the age and maintenance are huge issues, they make an impact, but are addressed by maintenance scheduling and periodic upgrade programs, as well as regular inspections, which aviator's tend to be pretty meticulous about. Lastly, there are definitely some environmental factors heat/sand, but for the most part those are addressed by the maintnenance regime. So, yeah, it's pretty complicated, but I hope that clarifies things a bit.
Posted by: Joe at November 19, 2003 04:31 PM