![]() ![]() military, had been maintained to the highest standards. Ed DarackĮxtortion 17's pilots and crew ranked among the very best military helicopter pilots in the world (Carter had amassed more than 4,000 hours of cockpit time), and the helicopter, a CH-47D, the fastest and one of the most powerful and nimble in the U.S. ![]() This misinformation persists in part because those unfamiliar with the battlefield aren't taking into account a fundamental part of war: chance.Ī Marine speaks into a radio and troops unload a CH-47D Chinook in Afghanistan's Kunar Province. They then repeated and emphasized a few related questions: How could this happen? What went so terribly wrong? Misinformation regarding the skills of the pilots and crew, and nonsensical conspiracy theories-often politically motivated-followed, much of which unfortunately continues to this day. Special Operations Command.ĭue to the sheer magnitude of loss of life, combined with recent news of SEAL Team Six's successful raid on Osama bin Laden's compound, global media outlets lionized the tragedy. It marked the greatest single incident loss of American life in the war in Afghanistan, the deadliest moment in the history of SEAL Team Six and the entirety of the Navy SEALs, and the deadliest single incident in the history of U.S. Extortion 17 then plummeted to the ground and erupted in a massive fireball. Everyone on board died within a fraction of a second-30 Americans, eight Afghans and one American military working dog. The second RPG round had connected with one of Extortion 17's aft rotor blades, severing more than 10 feet of it when it exploded. By the time the third sped away from its launcher, however, no target remained. The first of the unguided projectiles missed, as the vast majority of rocket propelled grenades shot at helicopters did over the course of the war in Afghanistan. Related: Marcus Luttrell's savior claim's 'Lone Survivor' got it wrong A volley of three rockets total sped toward the general direction of the approaching Chinook, all launched within a few seconds of each other. Each shouldered a rocket propelled grenade launcher, aimed at the dim silhouette of the approaching helicopter then fired. What the men on the Chinook didn't know was that cloaked by darkness, two fighters had emerged from the small village of Hasan Khel, on the south side of the valley. Just after entering the Tangi, as Extortion 17 continued to descend and decelerate toward its landing zone, the helicopter passed through the narrowest portion of the valley. They loaded onto Extortion 17, and then Carter and Nichols lifted the Chinook into the night sky.Ī CH-47D Chinook helicopter lands at a small landing zone at Firebase Blessing, in eastern Afghanistan’s restive Kunar Province at the start of a combat operation. Members of Navy SEAL Team Six formed the core of the IRF, with other American special operations personnel and highly-vetted Afghans playing integral roles. JSOC and aviation commanders, prepared for virtually any outcome, quickly formulated a plan: they would send a team on one helicopter to bolster the Ranger-led force. When they arrived at the compound, however, the strike force couldn't locate Tahir, and some of his fighters dispersed. ![]() Composed primarily of members of the 75th Ranger Regiment, which falls under the authority of the secretive Joint Special Operations Command, or JSOC, the team sought to capture or kill a powerful insurgent leader, Qari Tahir, known to coalition forces by his designation "Lefty Grove." Some of the most highly trained and skilled war fighters in history, the Rangers moved overland to a location where intelligence indicated Lefty Grove and his small cadre of fighters would be holding a meeting. Hours earlier, pilots Carter and Nichols and crewmembers Specialist Spencer Duncan, Sergeant Pat Hamburger, and Sergeant Alex Bennett, along with pilots and crew of a sister Chinook, Extortion 16, inserted a strike force in the central Tangi Valley. Extortion 17, however, would never reach that landing zone. In the rear of the aircraft, the Chinook's passengers stood and prepared to storm out into moonless night once the wheels touched the ground. ![]() Flying 250 feet above the valley floor at just under 70 miles per hour, Dave Carter, the pilot to the right of Nichols, guided the helicopter toward a carefully chosen landing zone just over a mile away. "One minute-one minute," transmitted Bryan Nichols, the pilot in command of the helicopter. Army Chinook helicopter, call sign Extortion 17, entered the western opening of Afghanistan's restive Tangi Valley, flying alone. ![]()
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