Fatal Apache Crash in Fairfield Utah, Research Paper Example

Apache Helicopter Crash in Utah: Careful Analysis

On August 20, 2007 at 8:20am a devastating accident took the lives of two decorated pilots that were Operation Enduring Freedom veterans in Afghanistan.  The accident took place in Utah during a routine training exercise involving the flight of an AH-64 Apache helicopter.  The advanced design of the helicopter, the spectacular service record of the pilots, and their knowledge of aviation tactics should have been enough to avoid any failure on that training day.  The training pathway was a very common area that most of the pilots in the Utah National Guard were familiar with exploring through multiple training exercises.  Nevertheless, these two pilots lost their lives due to the fatal crash, and investigative resources were implemented that have provided very little information on the exact cause of the crash.

The crash occurred early in the morning in Utah County just outside of Fairfield.  The pilots were flying the AH-64 Apache helicopter, which is one of the most state-of-the-art aviation machines used in the military.  The pilots were Chief Warrant Officers James R. Linder and Clayton S. Barnes who served a combined 21 years together in the United States Army National Guard.  “The pilots were both veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom and had served in Afghanistan with the First Battalion, 211th Aviation, in 2004-2005” (Speckman, 2007, par. 4).  After returning from Afghanistan, the pilots moved back home with their families in West Jordan, Utah, which is where most of their company had grown up and lived for most of their lives.  Barnes left behind his wife and four young children, while Linder left behind his wife and three children.  Another crew on a separate training flight Monday night followed the AH-64’s original route when it failed to keep regular radio contact and located the wreckage (Aero-News.net, 2007, par. 4).  This crew came across the wreckage and immediately called it in for close observation and for medical personnel to quickly assess the extent of the physical damage to the pilots.  The pilots were lucky enough to be flying one of the most commonly used aircraft in the military because of its near flawless design and combat capabilities.

The AH-64 has a very interesting and efficient design that makes transporting crew, resources and engaging in enemy combat a simple affair.  It seats two people in the front of the helicopter side-by-side; the copilot or the gunner sits in the rear seat, which is raised and has good all-round visibility (FAS.org).  This dual-responsibility seating provides that the pilot can operate the aircraft while the gunner engages in active combat when necessary. “The four-blade metal rotor is of the articulated type with the blades angled at 60°/120° in relation to each other to reduce noise levels” (AviaStar.org, par. 2).  This change in the design makes for more efficient communication and allows for passengers to also communicate without having any problems hearing each other or the orders of their commander.  Apart from the technical and structural characteristics, the armament and weaponry holds the most impressive design of the aircraft.  The aircraft is equipped with advanced targeting technology, night vision equipment with infra-red technology, and a computerized fire control system all designed to assist the pilot and gunner to engage in active combat (FAS.org).  Besides the advanced technology that helps provide for accurate targeting and missile locking, the AH-64 Apache helicopter has several key weaponry designed to make use of the advanced targeting systems.  “The armament includes a 30mm XM-230E1 automatic cannon firing 750 rounds, and 16 Hellfire antitank missiles or seventy-six 2.75 inch rockets beneath the stub wings.  All the most vulnerable parts are protected by armor against shots of up to 23mm caliber” (AviaStar.org, par. 3).  All of these advances have made the AH-64 Apache helicopter one of the best tools available for aviation combat.

On August 20, 2007, the two pilots began preparing early that morning for a training exercise that would be the last of CWO Barnes’s career as he was transferring out of the aviation wing of the National Guard to begin a career in dentistry, a degree he was set to begin through the University of Utah on the following day.  Although most of the training missions were flown at night to test the night-vision technology and radar targeting technology, this training exercise was to be a very simple activity.  Pete Adams, a Utah National Guard pilot said that the training area was “[a] common training area, a place where every one of us has flown 100 times” (Aero-News.net, 2007, par. 9).  The area was very familiar to all of the pilots stationed in the northern Utah National Guard, and all weather reports declared that there was a minor fog in the air that morning, but not enough to cause any sight restriction for the two pilots that were training that morning.  Still, some form of error occurred within the aircraft, whether human or mechanical that caused the helicopter to crash.

Immediately following the crash in 2007, army officials from the Army Aviation Center at Fort Rucker, Alabama, were dispatched to begin an investigation to discern the cause of the crash and to file an immediate report.  Unfortunately, no information has been made public as to the cause of the crash and no hypotheses have been established to suggest any educated guesses that it was a helicopter malfunction, mistake by the pilot or even that the weather may have caused undue turbulence during the training exercise.  All that is known is that CWO Clayton Barnes customarily called his wife prior to the flight to inform her that they were going to be flying over the family’s house in West Jordan (Blankenfeld, 2007, par. 3).  Barnes’s wife reported to authorities that neither her nor their children heard the aircraft in the area, and Barnes never returned home that evening.  Utah Governor Jon Huntsman called for an immediate and mandatory stand-down of all Utah Army National Guard aircraft while the safety check and investigation took place to decide the exact cause of the crash.  The ultimate goal of the stand-down was to ensure that all aircraft were deemed safe for duty and that all measures were taken to prevent further accidents in the future.

It is highly doubtful that the crash was caused by the error of either of the pilots.  According to a 2007 article, “James ‘Da Brain’ Linder was known for his vast knowledge, especially when it came to the AH-64 Apache. ‘If you had a question he was probably the smartest guy I ever met in my life’, said Capt. Mark Farmer” (Blankenfeld, 2007, par. 4).  Linder became known among many of his peers as the brains of the company, which allows many people to believe that human error was not likely the case on that day in August.  It is likely that a helicopter malfunction occurred and forced the pilots to take the aircraft down.  Further research should be conducted to determine if specific autopsy reports were performed that could shed a little more light on the unknown events that caused these decorated soldiers to lose their lives.  Army Officials stated that the local base never received a radio distress call and that the crash site showed the aircraft was ‘fairly intact’ and that there did not appear to be any fire or explosion (Speckman, 2007, par. 7-8).  No news source or government resource claimed that any ejection was attempted, but it is clear that the cause of death came from direct impact of the aircraft crashing in the mountains of northern Utah.  The crash “has left the men and women who knew these two experienced pilots struggling to comprehend how they could survive enemy gunfire and rocket propelled grenades in Afghanistan only to perish in a crash so close to home” (Blankenfeld, 2007, par. 7).

Although the exact cause of the crash is still unknown or unreported, the impact of the deaths of two decorated pilots has caused immense emotional pain for their families, friends, and fellow troop members.  A memorial was built to ensure that none of the local community members forgot the outstanding service these two young men gave to the country, community and the state of Utah.  This is a very sad ordeal, but one that is unfortunately more common that it really needs to be.  Careful efforts must be taken to ensure safe proceedings during all exercises, whether actual combat or just training exercises.  This country relies on the men and women that serve in the armed forces to ensure that freedom and honor are upheld at all times, regardless of the enemy and the conflict.  It is clear that these two men are missed, and more information is absolutely necessary to draw complete closure over these unfortunate events.

References

Aero-News.net. (2007, August 23). Utah governor grounds all state national guard aircraft. Retrieved on October 5, 2009, from Web site: http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?ContentBlockID=0e08dfaa-8cc8-4384-b520-1bf16fb00a7b&Dynamic=1&Range=NOW&FromDate=08%2F24%2F2007&ToDate=09%2F05%2F2007&Category=%2Findex.cfm

AviaStar.org. Hughes AH-64 ‘apache’. Retrieved on October 5, 2009, from Web site: http://www.aviastar.org/helicopters_eng/mcdonnel_apache.php

Blankenfeld, B. (2007, August 23). Names released of two apache helicopter pilots. ABC 4 News. Retrieved on October 5, 2009, from Web site: http://www.abc4.com/mostpopular/story/Names-released-of-two-Apache-helicopter-pilots/gleUwtiFlUaMSGqb1KCU9g.cspx

FAS.org. AH-64 Apache. Retrieved on October 5, 2009, from Web site: http://www.fas.org/programs/ssp/man/uswpns/air/attack/ah64_apache.html

Speckman, S. (2007, August 21). Military investigators probing fatal helicopter crash. Deseret Morning News. Retrieved on October 5, 2009, from Web site: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20070821/ai_n19475254/