Boeing Chinook (UK Variants) - Notable Incidents and Accidents

Notable Incidents and Accidents

• On 13 May 1986, Chinook HC1 ZA715 crashed in bad weather in the Falkland Islands. The helicopter, with four crew and 12 troops, crashed into a hill 4 miles from its destination. With rescuers hampered by blizzards, the personnel were recovered but one crew member had died shortly after the crash, and the co-pilot and a soldier died on the way to hospital. The board of enquiry concluded that the crew had become disorientated due to "white-out" conditions.

• On 27 February 1987, Chinook HC1 ZA721 crashed in the Falkland Islands on a test flight following servicing. After leaving RAF Mount Pleasant, the helicopter was at a normal cruising speed and an altitude of between 300 and 700 feet when it nosed down and crashed into the ground about 6 kilometres south-east of the airfield; it was destroyed by a subsequent fire. The board of enquiry was unable to determine the exact cause but it may have been the forward-swivelling upper boost actuator jamming. All seven on board, three crew and four technicians, were killed.

• On 6 May 1988, Chinook HC1 ZA672 hit a pier at Hannover Airport while taxiing into position in a confined space. Its front rotor struck the underside of Pier 10, causing the helicopter to rear up vertically and then fall on its side. A fire started at the rear of the fuselage and soon spread. Three crew members were killed and one had major injuries; the Chinook was destroyed.

• On 2 June 1994, Chinook HC2 ZD576 crashed on the Mull of Kintyre, Scotland, killing all 25 passengers and all four crew members; the cause is disputed.

• On 19 August 2009, the Ministry of Defence announced that a Chinook made an emergency landing following an RPG strike and subsequent engine fire after a cargo drop-off just north of Sangin in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The Chinook flew two kilometres to a safe area before landing. None of the crew sustained any injuries and all evacuated the aircraft before they were rescued by a second Chinook on the same sortie. The damaged aircraft was then destroyed by coalition air strikes to prevent it falling into the hands of the Taliban.

• On 30 August 2009, the loss of another Chinook was announced. The helicopter made a hard landing while on operations near Sangin, Helmand province. It suffered damage to the undercarriage, nose and front rotor, but the crew and 15 soldiers on board were unharmed. According to the Ministry of Defence due to the location of the crash it was not possible to safely recover the aircraft and it was destroyed with explosives deliberately. The cause of the hard landing is being investigated, although it is not thought to have been shot down.