Apache down in Texas

Believe that's a NG unit. Hope the crew members escaped without injury.

Edit: RIP
 
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Hopes for the crew. Not always good when the report states coast guard is involved in a search for the crew.
 
mscard88 said:
Ft Hood not that far away. Maybe active?
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NG unit at Ellington flies Apaches

I was on an instrument approach into Ellington one day when I noticed an Apache on final for the parallel. I asked tower about it and they sorta verbally yawned at me.
 
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There is a picture floating around internally of the entire static mast up buried in the dirt as if rotor separation. If true, this will be the second rotor separation incident in NG units in 24 months.
 
Soldier64 said:
There is a picture floating around internally of the entire static mast up buried in the dirt as if rotor separation. If true, this will be the second rotor separation incident in NG units in 24 months.
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They don't have any A models left in the NG do they?
 
That's a shame if it was a component failure. Sorting out and finding a successful outcome to RW emergencies is hard enough as it is with all the big parts still attached - mostly impossible with them gone.

On a side note I almost joined that unit back in the early 90's but life got in the way. Now I really wish I would have.
 
No A's left in fact the 1/149th was the last to fly them...went to the last A Model retirement ceremony a few years back at Ellington...at one time I was an advisor to the unit and fielded them with 64's sort of a local boy gets to go home. Until yesterday they were the only Apache battalion to never have a Class A accident and that was a great record figuring they were the second non active duty unit to field starting in 1990.
 
Warlock said:
No A's left in fact the 1/149th was the last to fly them...went to the last A Model retirement ceremony a few years back at Ellington...at one time I was an advisor to the unit and fielded them with 64's sort of a local boy gets to go home. Until yesterday they were the only Apache battalion to never have a Class A accident and that was a great record figuring they were the second non active duty unit to field starting in 1990.
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I believe that's the unit that did the infamous downtown Houston flyby years ago. I remember sitting in the theater at Rucker watching the vid and everyone was clapping at the end. Then the safety center guy was like, "no, that's an example of what not to do." Oops! Still, it was cool!
 
yes when your located under the Bravo of Houston and Populated with EMS, Oil Patch and Airline pilots the quickest way is direct to FT Hood and when you look at fuel requirements deploying to North Ft Hood from Ellington its doable but only direct...most of the time its through the downtown corridor...also known for a well timed flyby through Kyle Stadium unannounced at the start of a A & M game led by the Battalion commander class of 70...just happened to need refuel at Easterwood on the way to Hood because they did not go direct.
 
Warlock said:
yes when your located under the Bravo of Houston and Populated with EMS, Oil Patch and Airline pilots the quickest way is direct to FT Hood and when you look at fuel requirements deploying to North Ft Hood from Ellington its doable but only direct...most of the time its through the downtown corridor...also known for a well timed flyby through Kyle Stadium unannounced at the start of a A & M game led by the Battalion commander class of 70...just happened to need refuel at Easterwood on the way to Hood because they did not go direct.
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No, not a corridor. I'm taking about this...

 
Oh the veterans day parade...forgot about that...
 
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If your a helicopter guy this tells a bad scenario...
 
Wow. It appears the mast ripped right out of the transmission. Almost like what happened with the Super Puma earlier this year...sad.
 
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Warlock said:
If your a helicopter guy this tells a bad scenario...
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I'm not a rotor head and even I know, that wont end well. RIP guys...

Only thing I ever really feared climbing into a chopper back in the day, the fuse going south and the rotor head going north.
 
Wondering if some specialist put it back in service missing parts or what not. Looks too clean to have been a metal failure to me.
 
Looks like the candle sticks carried the load and snapped. Wonder if the mast was torqued down? The bottom of the mast look way to clean.
 
As a 60 crewchief, I was all over that baby during reassembly and before a MTF. 5 yrs and no accidents in any of my units. Boy was I lucky. Right before arriving at my one unit and one year after my ETS, there were fatalities.
 
Flymy47 said:
Which accident was this from? I ask because we had a -64 go down here in TN a year or so ago. Rumor has it that they threw a blade.
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Two days ago LaPorte/Seabrook...a 1/149th TANG aircraft
 
Rgr, thanks. I must have missed that. I'd heard it went down in the water.

Condolences to the unit and families.
 
Flymy47 said:
Rgr, thanks. I must have missed that. I'd heard it went down in the water.
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Most of it did, but not far from land. The big prop piece was very near the shore, but on land.
 
I knew some folks from that unit, but not the accident crew. Names were released. One is married to a friend's cousin. They have (he had) twins on the way. Heard nothing but good about how the unit handled notifying the family.

Rotormast departed the A/C, and the AC ended up inverted in the water. That up close and personal picture of the rotorhead/mast says a lot.
 
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