Army Helicopter Accidentally Drops Hellfire Missile Over Texas Homes - Polidicks

[quote] KILLEEN, Texas — A 6-foot-long inactive training missile accidentally fell from a military helicopter into field near a Texas military post, causing the brief evacuation of nearby homes but not harming anyone, officials said. About 100 homes in a neighborhood near Fort Hood were evacuated Tuesday night after a witness reported seeing something fall from the sky around 8 p.m., Killeen police spokeswoman Carroll Smith said. Residents were allowed back into their homes within an hour of the incident. Ordnance technicians from the Army post examined the missile and determined it didn’t have a warhead or propulsion system, Fort Hood officials said. The training missile, which had implanted itself into the ground, was removed before midnight and left a hole in the ground several feet deep. “Safety is always our No. 1 concern, and we regret the inconvenience to the families affected in the area,” Col. Howard Arey, a Fort Hood aviation officer, said in a statement Wednesday. “We want to reassure the public that our military aircraft never fly off the installation with live munitions.” Arey said the post is investigating and reviewing its safety procedures, but “we believe at this time that it is not a systemic issue.”[/quote] [url]http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/texas-homes-evacuated-after-inactive-training-missile-falls-from-army-helicopter-nobody-hurt/2012/05/16/gIQAwOUtUU_print.html[/url]

Looks like a coupling failure. Not a problem anyway, it wasn't even close to live.

I live there, hadn't heard shit about this at all. :V Edit: Anyways it was a training round, it wasn't real. The only real danger is being hit by it as it fell to the ground.

That's not the point guys. Had it been live and the coupling failed many people could have been hurt. Now just think of how many of these things are buzzing around all year round.

"Whoopsie"

Do believe even if the missile accidently fell off it still has to be armed. So if it just falls off just hitting the ground 'shouldn't' trigger it. Just like people who think guns fire if they drop like an inch

[QUOTE=ViralHatred;36002743]That's not the point guys. Had it been live and the coupling failed many people could have been hurt. Now just think of how many of these things are buzzing around all year round.[/QUOTE] Oh yeah man what a cat- [quote]“We want to reassure the public that our military aircraft never fly off the installation with live munitions.”[/quote] Oops

Trust me, I have loaded hellfire missiles before on ejector racks. I think I know what the armament guy did to make this fall off, and I bet he is going to catch hell for it. It would help if we knew the model of helicopter. I work on Kiowas.

Seriously? In the UK I have birds whizzing past with live munitions all the time. Especially since there are several bombing ranges near to where I live - To the point they post signs telling you not to go near it because of unexploded ordnance. How do you Americans do target practice?

[QUOTE=ViralHatred;36002794]Seriously? In the UK I have birds whizzing past with live munitions all the time. Especially since there are several bombing ranges near to where I live - To the point they post signs telling you not to go near it because of unexploded ordnance. How do you Americans do target practice?[/QUOTE] They go to Iraq.

[QUOTE=ViralHatred;36002794]Seriously? In the UK I have birds whizzing past with live munitions all the time. Especially since there are several bombing ranges near to where I live - To the point they post signs telling you not to go near it because of unexploded ordnance. How do you Americans do target practice?[/QUOTE] We have ranges where we conduct what is called a "gunnery" all the time. The pilots just fly around with dummy munitions on regular flights to get used to how the helicopter flies with them mounted due to the weight. [editline]18th May 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Conspiracy;36002804]They go to Iraq.[/QUOTE] Not anymore.

[QUOTE=ViralHatred;36002794]Seriously? In the UK I have birds whizzing past with live munitions all the time. Especially since there are several bombing ranges near to where I live - To the point they post signs telling you not to go near it because of unexploded ordnance. How do you Americans do target practice?[/QUOTE] Fort Hood is huge. A large portion of it consists of many shooting ranges away from civilian areas.

[QUOTE=ViralHatred;36002743]That's not the point guys. Had it been live and the coupling failed many people could have been hurt. Now just think of how many of these things are buzzing around all year round.[/QUOTE] Freak accidents are something we really need to devote a lot of worry to - viralhatred 2012 Why aren't you freaking out about the astronomical chances of planes in the sky malfunctioning and crashing into your home, there's more of those flying over you every day.

[B]6-foot-long[/B] eat fresh!

[QUOTE=supertribute;36003016][B]6-foot-long[/B] eat fresh![/QUOTE] Missile of the day: Hellfire.

[QUOTE=JaegerMonster;36002983]Freak accidents are something we really need to devote a lot of worry to - viralhatred 2012 Why aren't you freaking out about the astronomical chances of planes in the sky malfunctioning and crashing into your home, there's more of those flying over you every day.[/QUOTE] I do. I moved a good 8 miles further away from it to lessen the amount of aerial activity above me ∴ reducing the risk.

Completely misleading thread title, it makes it sound like it was a live missile.

Training missile, trainee crew. There is your explanation and this title is very sensationalist.

[QUOTE=David29;36003042]Missile of the day: Hellfire.[/QUOTE] Sounds about what the last subway I ate tasted like.

[QUOTE=ViralHatred;36002794]Seriously? In the UK I have birds whizzing past with live munitions all the time. Especially since there are several bombing ranges near to where I live - To the point they post signs telling you not to go near it because of unexploded ordnance. How do you Americans do target practice?[/QUOTE] There are about 15 large (15 to 25 square miles each) munition ranges up in the North-east part of Arizona, they'll stop traffic on the highway when they're practicing. It's pretty cool to watch.

[QUOTE=ViralHatred;36002743]That's not the point guys. Had it been live and the coupling failed many people could have been hurt. Now just think of how many of these things are buzzing around all year round.[/QUOTE] Yeah man I can't take two steps without seeing an army helicopter, jesus pretty soon I'll have to jump every two steps cause a god damned training missile might wreck my shit.

[QUOTE=smace;36003526]Training missile, trainee crew. There is your explanation and this title is very sensationalist.[/QUOTE] No shit? Imagine if it were live and it landed in a backyard full of children playing? The point is that even it were a training munition, it should not happen period. There should be a shitstorm about this. I mean I'd be pretty pissed if a large missile impaled the roof of my car and blew it up

Wow, that's a really sensationalist title.

[QUOTE=sHiBaN;36006636]No shit? Imagine if it were live and it landed in a backyard full of children playing? The point is that even it were a training munition, it should not happen period. There should be a shitstorm about this. I mean I'd be pretty pissed if a large missile impaled the roof of my car and blew it up[/QUOTE] I am not sure you are completely aware of how the Army operates. Read up on Article 15 of the UCMJ.

[QUOTE=sHiBaN;36006636]No shit? Imagine if it were live and it landed in a backyard full of children playing? The point is that even it were a training munition, it should not happen period. There should be a shitstorm about this. I mean I'd be pretty pissed if a large missile impaled the roof of my car and blew it up[/QUOTE] You should be banned for failure to read. [B]IT WAS NOT ARMED. THEY NEVER FLY ARMED VEHICLES OUT OF THE BASE.[/B]

[QUOTE=ThePinkPanzer;36007751]You should be banned for failure to read. [B]IT WAS NOT ARMED. THEY NEVER FLY ARMED VEHICLES OUT OF THE BASE.[/B][/QUOTE] when they go to war they have to sail them instead

[QUOTE=CubeManv2;36002758]Do believe even if the missile accidently fell off it still has to be armed. So if it just falls off just hitting the ground 'shouldn't' trigger it. Just like people who think guns fire if they drop like an inch[/QUOTE] they cant arm training missiles, they have no explosives in them except for maybe fuel

[QUOTE=Trumple;36007941]when they go to war they have to sail them instead[/QUOTE] We never deploy helicopters and munitions in the same transport. There are ways to do both. We arm them when they get to the other side.

That's what you get for living in Texas.

[QUOTE=SKEEA;36002791]Trust me, I have loaded hellfire missiles before on ejector racks. I think I know what the armament guy did to make this fall off, and I bet he is going to catch hell for it. It would help if we knew the model of helicopter. I work on Kiowas.[/QUOTE] Probably a Cobra, they fly them all over the place down here. One came to our school for some Army related assembly a couple years ago, it was pretty baller.