Published January 9, 2004
FALLUJAH, Iraq (AP) — A Black Hawk medivac helicopter,
clearly marked with a red cross, crashed yesterday after a witness
said it was hit by a rocket, killing all nine U.S. soldiers aboard.
In Baghdad, a C-5 transport plane with 63 passengers and crew
limped safely back to the airport after being struck by fire from
insurgents.
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About 80 Iraqi prisoners, meanwhile, were released from
Baghdad’s Abu Ghraib prison, but they were not the detainees
that U.S. authorities had promised would be freed under a special
amnesty.
The military said a U.S. soldier died Wednesday of injuries
suffered when a mortar attack wounded 30 other troops and a
civilian west of Baghdad.
The deaths brought to at least 495 the number of Americans
killed in Iraq from hostile and non-hostile causes since the start
of the war in March, according to the U.S. Central Command and the
Department of Defense.
The Black Hawk went down about four miles south of Fallujah, a
stronghold of the anti-American insurgency, the 82nd Airborne
Division said.
The military said the cause of the crash was not known, but a
witness, Mohammed Ahmed al-Jamali, said he heard the distinctive
whoosh of a rocket and saw the helicopter, which was clearly marked
with red crosses signifying its medical mission, struck in the
tail.
The 27-year-old farmer who lives close to the crash site said he
rushed to the scene but found everyone dead.
The helicopter was a medical evacuation aircraft but it was
unclear if it was carrying patients, a military official said,
speaking on condition of anonymity.
Another witness, student Waleed Kurdi, 23, said he heard
“a loud explosion and I saw the fire in the air” as the
chopper exploded in two before it hit the ground.
Twice before, American helicopters have gone down near Fallujah,
a city 35 miles west of Baghdad.
A OH-58 Kiowa observation helicopter went down Jan. 2, killing
one soldier. Military officials said it almost certainly was shot
down. And on Nov. 2, a Chinook helicopter was shot down near the
city, killing 16 American soldiers and injuring 26. The military
believes a SA-7 shoulder-fired missile hit one of the
chopper’s rear-mounted engines.
In yesterday’s close call at Baghdad International
Airport, a transport plane carrying 63 people declared an in-flight
emergency because of “excessive” vibrations in the No.
4 engine and landed safely shortly after takeoff, the Air Force
said.
The Air Force later issued a brief statement saying initial
information indicated the engine exploded as a result of
“hostile action from the ground.” The statement said no
injuries were reported.
In November, a shoulder-fired missile struck a DHL cargo plane
at the airport, forcing it to make an emergency landing at the
airport with its wing aflame. All three crew members were
unhurt.
