He Watched an RPG Fly Right at Him 😳

This transcript captures a firsthand military account of a dangerous helicopter operation that went catastrophically wrong. The narrator describes watching a Chinook helicopter with its belly exposed coming under intense enemy fire, including RPK machine gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). The speaker vividly recalls watching an RPG slowly approaching their position and exploding just behind them. During this attack, a service member named Neil Roberts fell approximately 12 feet from the back of the helicopter while the crew chief was on a tether hanging beneath the aircraft. The situation deteriorated further as the helicopter went over the side of what appears to be a mountain or ridge, executing a controlled crash landing on the valley floor. The aircraft ended up in hilly terrain where it began sliding uncontrollably to the right before finally hitting the ground. Despite the crash, the crew survived the impact. In the immediate aftermath, the team discovered they had lost a man during the incident. A team member called 'Slab' quickly established radio contact to provide a situation report and requested permission to return to the crash site to either rescue the missing service member or recover his body, which was immediately approved.