Black Hawk crash in Colombia kills 20

[Judi Lynn]

Thursday, January 13, 2005 · Last updated 7:02 a.m. PT

Black Hawk crash in Colombia kills 20

By DAN MOLINSKI
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

BOGOTA, Colombia -- A Black Hawk helicopter crashed Thursday during a counternarcotics mission in the jungles of southwest Colombia, killing all 20 soldiers aboard, the army said.

The helicopter, used in the U.S.-funded anti-drug effort called Plan Colombia, went down just after midnight near the town of Tumaco, 230 miles southwest of the capital.

Early investigations indicate the crash occurred due to "bad weather," according to the army statement.

The Black Hawk that went down was part of an assault mission that included seven other aircraft, the statement said.
(snip/...)

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/aplatin_story.asp?category=1102&slug=Colombia%20Helicopter%20Crashes

[RobertSeattle]

1. That's a pretty full Blackhawk

If I recall from my Army days, the crew is either 3 or 4 and then 11 passenger max (?) if they are sitting in seats.

[Ripley]

2. Must have been standing up...

snip>>

It was the highest death toll from a helicopter crash in Colombia since February 2003, when a Colombian army Black Hawk crashed in the mountains of northern Colombia, killing 23 crewmembers and elite troops.

snip>>

I can't believe we spent $3.5 BILLION in the last 5 years for this. Has it stopped cocaine from coming here at all?

[ellie]

3. No, it hasn't

stopped the cocaine flow. I remember reading an article here on DU that said now coke was cheaper than a cappuccino!

[gandalf]

4. Naturally not. And that is not the primary goal.

Read Michael Levine, Deep Cover.

[kuozzman]

5. 12/28/05 $1 million drug seizure just outside town limits

http://www.mainstreetnewspapers.com/articles/2004/01/23/vinton/news/news01.txt



By New York, or D.C. or Atlanta standards, this is not a big find, but by Bedford and area standards, it is huge, Sheriff Mike Brown said at January 8th press conference. The cocaine was the most ever seized in Bedford, and is possibly the largest amount ever intercepted in Southwest VA. The size of the bust, and the cunning of the remote-operated secret compartment prompted the Bedford County Sheriff's office to write the discovery was "just like you see on the TV show COPS," in their initial press release.

Investigator Ben Cook, of the Vinton police department called the bust impressive, but he said it was not surprising.

"It's obviously coming through here. We have searched cars and gotten quite a lot of narcotics out of them ," Cook said. Although Vinton police have never made a bust as big as Bedford's recent find, Cook explained drug-runners are just as likely to use Hardy Road, Route 460, or Route 24 as they are Interstate 81.