The Tigris: Iraq's Bermuda Triangle?

[JailForBush]

"U.S. and Iraqi forces searched yesterday for a missing Fort Lewis Stryker brigade soldier and two U.S. Army helicopter pilots along the Tigris River near Mosul.

"The Coalition Press Office in Baghdad said the search was continuing last night for the soldier, who disappeared after an Iraqi police boat capsized in the Tigris River on Sunday evening. The pilots of an OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopter who were helping in the search were missing after their aircraft crashed into the Tigris."

Huh? How do you explain one soldier and two helicopter pilots getting LOST in the same locality? A boat capsized on the Tigris River, and both helicopters crashed while searching for a solider who was on the boat. Why isn't this front page news? And were there any passengers aboard the helicpters? I know nothing about Kiowa Warrior helicopters, but it would be utterly stupid to expect the pilot(s) to search the water below when he's supposed to be flying the helicopter.

And wasn't the missing solider wearing a flotation device?

"Initial indications show the crash was an accident. U.S. officials were uncertain what caused the boat to capsize. Pentagon officials said there was no indication enemy activity was involved."

Yeah, I'll bet.

"The helicopter clipped some cables above a bridge that sent it plunging into the river, according to the Army Times and Associated Press accounts."

What kind of a dumbass pilot isn't alert for cables above a bridge?

"Army officials said the missing brigade soldier is one of four Stryker brigade soldiers who were on a boat with several Iraqis."

So what happened to the other soliders and Iraqis? Were they rescued by a second helicopter (that presumably later crashed), did they swim ashore, or are they subject of a separate search that simply isn't covered in this article?

This sounds awfully fishy to me.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/158231_stryker27.html

[SheilaT]

1. When someone falls into a river

it's not uncommon to be swept a long way. Often bodies are never recovered.

So I'm not sure what you're trying to imply, whether the search isn't very good, or there's something "out there" happening like the supposed Bermuda Triangle thing, or if you think there wasn't really a crash or that it was deliberate, or exactly what.

Given that helicopters are regularly being shot down in Iraq, I'm sure all the pilots are busy taking evasive maneuvers and maybe that would lead to flying into power lines. Or simple incompetence. Who knows?

[JailForBush]

2. THIS is what I'm implying...

There's probably a lot more to the story than what the media are telling us. I'm well aware that people can be swept long distances down rivers. However, I would presume that a SOLIDER on a military mission would be wearing a life preserver, at the very least. Moreover, I THINK the Tigris is a very slow-moving river.

And I wouldn't be quick to dismiss flying a helicopter into a cable over a bridge as simple negligence. The bridge itself was presumably hard to miss, and I think most pilots would expect to find things like cables near bridges and other man-made structures.

[SheilaT]

3. You're no doubt correct

that we're not being given the full story, but what else is new? Assuming a soldier (not solider,by the way. Spell check is a wonderful device.) would necessarily be wearing a life vest is just an assumption. If he's wearing a flak vest of some kind I doubt a flotation device would also fit.

What are you thinking is the cause of flying into a cable? Or are you suggesting the helicopter was shot down, which is probably always a possibility.

I have no idea if the Tigris is fast moving or slow moving or shallow or deep or filled with rum and coke. Instead of guessing and assuming all these things, if you're so interested why not do some research?