Pic: that fatal AH-1W crash on 28sep2011 due to stuck skid..

[Stratofreighter]

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/xml/new ... sh_800.JPG


http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=138917

http://www.nj.com/gloucester-county/ind ... nwich.html

And a lot more background information on this crash at
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/20 ... h-032512w/

Landing pad blamed for Super Cobra crash

Posted : Sunday Mar 25, 2012 10:12:36 EDT

First Lt. Ryan Iannelli and Lt. Col. Allen Grinalds were lifting off in their AH-1W Super Cobra for an afternoon strike mission in southern Afghanistan when the helicopter’s nose plunged suddenly.

Grinalds, the commanding officer of Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 269, called out a warning from the rear seat and took the stick, but to no avail. A panel on the landing pad had come loose in the rotor wash and hooked the right skid.

Less than 20 feet in the air, the aircraft crashed to the ground, nose first. It rolled right and the main rotor broke apart. One blade sheared off the canopy, striking Iannelli.

The $10.7 million aircraft was totaled and Iannelli was dead within hours, robbing HMLA-269 of one of its most promising young pilots.

Continues at http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/20 ... h-032512w/