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Over the past decade, many American helicopters in the Middle East have been targeted by terrorists with RPGs or similar weapons that can cause severe devastation to these multimillion dollar aircraft.
Footage from what is believed to be the Middle East (possibly Afghanistan, though it is difficult to know) shows a Chinook helicopter continuing to fly despite being hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, American Military News reported.
The video shows the helicopter taking off with an unknown number of people aboard. Almost immediately after liftoff, an RPG is fired from the ground nearby.
The RPG strikes the aircraft in the back, but miraculously the helicopter continues to fly. That must have been a real shock to the terrorist on the ground who fired the rocket — who was undoubtedly expecting to knock the bird out of the sky.
It appears that the explosive hit the back of the aircraft, near where troops and/or equipment would be loaded onto the helicopter. That is most likely why the aircraft was able to continue to fly — it wasn’t struck in a vital area.
If the rocket had hit one of the Chinook’s rotors, it likely would have caused the aircraft to crash into the ground, possibly killing all those on board.
The most infamous Chinook incident was one that was shot down in 2011, killing 30 Americans and eight Afghans. Seventeen Navy SEALs were among the American dead.
This helicopter crew got incredibly lucky that they were flying in a helicopter that could take an RPG hit and stay in the air.
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