CNN - Apache helicopter came down in a ball of flames today in Iraq

[NNN0LHI]

MSNBC reported it was a "soft" landing. That is all so far. I will post a link and story when I find one.

Don

[Kitsune]

1. A soft landing in a ball of flames?

Maybe it's just because it's really early, but I'm having some sort of cognitive disconnect there.... o.o;;

[La_Serpiente]

2. Wholly *u*c*i

$h!t :wtf:

[htuttle]

3. It's like when you drop a piece of jelly toast

If the helicopter happens to land Rotor-side-up, it's a soft landing...

[pippin]

4. . . .and a C17 hit on take off

at Baghdad Aiport. . . all on the same day.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=262419

[NNN0LHI]

5. Link - U.S. Apache catches fire, lands in northern Iraq

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L1092279.htm

BAGHDAD, Dec 10 (Reuters) - A U.S. Apache helicopter made a "controlled landing" south of Mosul in northern Iraq on Wednesday after a fire broke out on board, a spokesman for the 101st Airborne Division told Reuters.

The spokesman said he had no information on whether the helicopter had come under fire from guerrillas. There were no reports of any casualties.

"The helicopter did not crash," the spokesman said. "It made a controlled landing, although it was on fire."

On Tuesday, a U.S. Kiowa helicopter made a "controlled hard landing" near the flashpoint town of Falluja west of Baghdad after coming under ground fire. The two-man crew escaped injury.

more

[pdove]

6. AP: C-17 Plane Probably Hit, Lands in Iraq

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20031210/API/312100767

The Associated Press
December 10, 2003

Guerrillas hit a U.S. Air Force transport plane with a surface-to-air missile, causing the engine to explode, a senior Pentagon source said Wednesday. The plane landed safely.

The C-17 had just lifted off from Baghdad International Airport before dawn Tuesday when the engine exploded, slightly injuring one of the 16 passengers and crew, said U.S. Air Force Capt. Carrie Clear of 447th Air Expeditionary Group, based at the airport.

The plane returned to the airport and landed safely, Clear said.

A senior Pentagon official, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the explosion as a direct hit by a ground-fired missile, "like the DHL" incident that damaged a cargo plane departing the airport last month. That plane, too, landed safely.

Clear said the incident was under investigation.

[KansDem]

17. Hey, AP! Was it "hit" or "probably hit?"

The article title and first sentence don't gel!

Which is it? Is this corporate media misinformation or are you(AP) losing your touch?

(edited to correct grammar mistake)

[PurityOfEssence]

7. Ball of Confusion, that's what the world is today

Hard landings and soft-headedness

[Zech Marquis]

8. soft landings and the usual DoD language being used

if you read in between the lines, it look slike things are really getting worse over there now...sooner o later, one of those transport planes could be shot down...


It looks like we're losing Iraq in a hurry :(

[Frances]

9. Maybe I have a suspicious mind

but Putin just "won" an election in Russia and is solidifying his power there.

The U.S. just announced that Russia would not get contracts to rebuild Iraq.

The U.S. wants all nations to forgive any debt that Iraq owes them. I seem to remember that Iraq owes Russia a bundle.

Could it be that Putin is supplying the Iraqi rebels with weapons? After all, the U.S. supported anti-Russian forces when Aghans rebelled against Russia.

(I have zilch evidence for wondering this.)

[pdove]

12. They may consider it now, if not before

Just considering what we have done and is doing in Georgia, Chechenia, and other central asia countries.

[0007]

13. Sounds like a normal thought process and could well be possible!

[Hubert Flottz]

15. Shrub would have seen it in Putin's eyes if that were the case!

That razor sharp brain of shrubs would have turned Putin into KY jelly if he even suspected!

[David__77]

16. I've always thought...

that at least a faction within Russian military and intelligence was going to support the former Iraqi government in certain ways. It's to Russia's strategic advantage that the US remain bogged down in Iraq for as long as possible, so it does make sense from that perspective.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

10. But it was just another chopper accident in Iraq and Afghanistan...

...right?

[jmcgowanjm]

11. An unscheduled landing-how JaneCNN Baghdad calls it

And James Baker has just become
USForeign $Policy Ambassador.

What's the Treasury Sec's job again?
FTM what's Powell's job?

[Cronus Protagonist]

14. It probably looked like this ...

...right before the "soft" landing.

http://bushspeaks.com/home.asp?did=145

[sam7]

18. On the bright side,

at least it looks like an airliner might be able to survive a hit from one of these missles.