Dramatic Military Helicopter Crash Caught on Camera
Dramatic new video gives a rare, up-close view of an American military attack chopper apparently losing control and crashing hard at a remote, mountainous outpost in Afghanistan.
The video, which appeared online recently, shows an Apache helicopter coming into view before swooping down low over the coalition outpost. The person shooting the video, who has not been identified, shouts in apparent fear as the helicopter narrowly misses a building and then chuckles in relief after it pulls back up. But after coming back around, the chopper drops down low again and slams its belly onto the snowy ground just feet from the camera.
The helicopter skids towards another group of people, but comes off the ground briefly before crashing again in the distance.
A spokesperson for the U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force told ABC News the video was taken Feb. 6 in the Paktika province in Afghanistan. Remarkably, no one on the ground was injured and the aircrew survived, the spokesperson said.
There was no enemy activity in the area and Army is currently investigating the incident, he said.
While the cause of the crash is unknown, former Marine Corps pilot and current ABC News consultant Steve Ganyard said it appears the pilot was performing dangerous low-level maneuvers for spectators and then lost control.