Boeing CH-47 Chinook - Notable Accidents and Incidents

Notable Accidents and Incidents

• On 11 September 1982, at an airshow in Mannheim, Germany a United States Army Chinook (serial number 74-22292) carrying parachutists crashed, killing 46 people. The crash was later found to be caused by an accumulation of ground walnut grit that had been used to clean the machinery. The accident gradually resulted in the eventual discontinuation of using walnut grit as a cleaning agent.
• On 6 November 1986, a British International Helicopters Chinook crashed on approach to Sumburgh Airport, Shetland Islands resulting in the loss of 45 lives and the withdrawal of the Chinook from crew servicing flights in the North Sea.
• On 1 March 1991, Major Marie Therese Rossi Cayton was killed when her Chinook helicopter crashed after colliding with a microwave tower during a dust storm. She was the first American woman to fly in combat during Desert Storm in 1991.
• On 29 May 2001, a ROK Army CH-47D installing a sculpture onto Olympic Bridge in Seoul, South Korea failed to unlatch the sculpture. The helicopter's rotors struck the monument; then the fuselage hit and broke into two. One section crashed onto the bridge in flames and the other fell into the river. All three crew members on board died.
• On 21 February 2002, a U.S. Army Special Forces MH-47E crashed at sea in the Philippines, killing all 10 U.S. soldiers on board. No enemy fire was involved.
• On 11 September 2004, a Greek Army CH-47SD crashed into the sea off Mount Athos. All 17 people on board were killed, including four senior figures in the Greek Orthodox Church.