Wednesday, December 10, 2014

How to move a Black Hawk (w/ photos)

COLUMBIA, SC — So how do you move a big 'copter?

With a bigger one.

A main rotor blade malfunction forced the emergency landing of an S.C. Army National Guard Black Hawk helicopter Dec. 3 in a field off I-77 south of downtown Columbia, according to Army reports.

The chopper, assigned to the 1-111th General Aviation Support Battalion, landed just off Bluff Road, near Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, amid rush-hour traffic. No one was hurt.

But because its main rotor was damaged, the helicopter couldn't take off again.

The solution?

A CH-47 Chinook helicopter from the S.C. Army National Guard Army Aviation Support Facility in Greenville sling-loaded the smaller helicopter to move it for repairs. The Army released photos Wednesday of the big 'copter being moved.

The cause of the main rotor malfunction remains under investigation.

ABOUT THE UH-60 BLACK HAWK

It's a twin-engine utility helicopter used for transport and evacuation with medium-lift capacity.

Manufacturer: Sikorsky

Crew: 4

Passengers: 11

Lift capacity: 9,000 pounds

Top speed: 183 mph

Length: 65 feet

Wingspan: 54 feet

Cost: $18 million

Engine type: General Electric T700

Weapons: machine guns, chain gun cannon, rockets

SOURCES: Aeroweb Report, U.S. Army, Boeing, Sikorsky

Story and photo gallery: http://www.thestate.com


U.S. Soldiers from the S.C. Army National Guard work to prepare a UH-60 Black Hawk from Detachment 2, Company F, 1-171st General Support Aviation Battalion, South Carolina Army National Guard, for sling-load movement to McEntire Joint National Guard Base, Eastover, S.C., Dec. 7, 2014. The Black Hawk made an emergency landing in an open field Dec. 3, 2014, due to a main rotor blade malfunction in Columbia, S.C. The Black Hawk was released by the Accident Review Board for recovery and was being transported via sling-load under a S.C. Army National Guard CH-47 Chinook helicopter from Detachment 1, B-Company, 2-238th General Support Aviation Battalion, S.C. Army National Guard Army Aviation Support Facility in Greenville, S.C. The cause of the main rotor malfunction remains under investigation. 
(Photo by Sgt. Brian Calhoun/Released)
 SGT. BRIAN CALHOUN — South Carolina National Guard

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