Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Pilots shot down in Iraq tell of dramatic escape - Washington Post
Comrades rescue ambushed officers
... It was also the opening salvo of what participants described as a dramatic ordeal of combat and survival, with two Army pilots crash-landing their aircraft, taking cover in neck-high water and reeds in a canal, avoiding insurgent fire, and dashing to a helicopter that lifted them to safety.
...
Burrows waded into knee-deep water, stepped off a steep underwater embankment and started sinking into the mud. Weighed down by his armor, he thought he would drown. As the water reached his neck, he hit firm ground. Cianfrini was in up to his chin.
The pilots had planned to cross the canal to reach a field on the other side, but the mud made it hard for them to move. Moments later, they realized that being stuck probably kept them alive: Insurgents were waiting on the opposite side.
About 15 or 20 insurgents with AK-47 assault rifles and other weapons then converged on both sides of the canal and started firing at the pilots.
...
The Apache [helicopter] had only two seats. Cianfrini took one, while one of the Apache pilots, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Micah Johnson, strapped himself onto the exterior of the helicopter. Burrows used his survival vest to strap in on the other side.
Soaking and covered with mud, Burrows held onto the handgrip on the outside of the Apache, as it lifted off and headed back to base at 120 mph, buffeting him hard with the wind. ...
Comrades rescue ambushed officers
... It was also the opening salvo of what participants described as a dramatic ordeal of combat and survival, with two Army pilots crash-landing their aircraft, taking cover in neck-high water and reeds in a canal, avoiding insurgent fire, and dashing to a helicopter that lifted them to safety.
...
Burrows waded into knee-deep water, stepped off a steep underwater embankment and started sinking into the mud. Weighed down by his armor, he thought he would drown. As the water reached his neck, he hit firm ground. Cianfrini was in up to his chin.
The pilots had planned to cross the canal to reach a field on the other side, but the mud made it hard for them to move. Moments later, they realized that being stuck probably kept them alive: Insurgents were waiting on the opposite side.
About 15 or 20 insurgents with AK-47 assault rifles and other weapons then converged on both sides of the canal and started firing at the pilots.
...
The Apache [helicopter] had only two seats. Cianfrini took one, while one of the Apache pilots, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Micah Johnson, strapped himself onto the exterior of the helicopter. Burrows used his survival vest to strap in on the other side.
Soaking and covered with mud, Burrows held onto the handgrip on the outside of the Apache, as it lifted off and headed back to base at 120 mph, buffeting him hard with the wind. ...
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