Pictures: RAF Chinook survives Afghan mishap

Flight International has obtained limited information on a non-fatal accident involving a UK Royal Air Force Boeing CH-47 Chinook HC2 transport helicopter in Afghanistan earlier this year.

Pictured at the UK Defence Aviation Repair Agency's Fleetlands site in Hampshire where it is awaiting repair, ZA675 suffered major damage to its port forward landing gear and fuel sponson when it was involved in a misjudged night-time landing at an undisclosed forward operating location in the May-June timeframe.

The Chinook’s crew is believed to have not immediately realised the full extent of the damage, and the aircraft was refuelled and returned to Kandahar airfield, from where it was later recovered to the UK using a Boeing C-17 strategic transport. The platform could be repaired to its original condition by as early as February 2007, according to military sources.

For the full story, see www.flightglobal.com/defence on Monday 18 September.