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American Morning
U.S. CentCom Confirming Apache Chopper Missing
Aired March 24, 2003 - 07:09 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: CentCom confirming what you and Barbara were just talking about that a U.S. Apache helicopter is missing in Iraq, which is the most advanced attack helicopter in the world. And we're going to take a look now at some of those pictures you were referring to, Bill, that were seen on Iraqi TV, showing video of what appeared to be an Apache chopper intact and upright.
Karl Penhaul is embedded with the Army 5th Corps, 11th Attack Helicopter Regiment. He has more by way of telephone.
Karl -- what have you seen from there?
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the Apache helicopters were in action (UNINTELLIGIBLE) with Republican Guard units. They (UNINTELLIGIBLE) their base south of Iraq around midnight and returned about three hours later.
I was flying on a command and control helicopter, the back helicopter, calling the first company of those attack helicopters into battle.
The mission for the helicopters was supposedly to attack the 2nd Armored Brigade as part of the Medina division of the Republican Guard, and they were to destroy T-72 tanks and artillery pieces.
Nevertheless, what happened in practice, Paula, was that as they flew into the area of where they were due to start the battle, the helicopters came under very heavy anti-aircraft and artillery fire.
Some of the pilots were telling me this morning it didn't only from military gunning placements around the area, but it also came from residential areas. They have their fears now that one of the strategies is either to place military emplacements in residential areas, or that civilians themselves have declared open season on coalition aircraft going into the area -- Paula.
ZAHN: Karl, once they encountered the stiff resistance, were any of them able to tell you whether they completed their objective?
PENHAUL: I was talking to many of them this morning. They were showing me their aircraft that they successfully got back to the base here. Most of those aircraft do show evidence of gunshot impacts. Some of them obviously impacts from fairly small arms fire from assault rifles and such like. Others show signs that they were from larger rounds, possibly anti-aircraft rounds.
And because of the intensity of the anti-aircraft fire, most of these pilots tell me they were not able to complete their mission. They weren't able to attack the Republican Guard (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Most of the time that they spent in that battle zone was defending themselves and trying to get out alive -- Paula.
ZAHN: Karl Penhaul, we'll come back to you a little bit later, and maybe the wind won't be blowing so hard, somewhat obscuring his report there. But I can tell you from his earlier report, he talked with a couple of pilots who said it was like being in a hornet's nest with fire coming from all sides. He said in some cases the pilots said they sustained 15 to 20 rounds.
We're going to try to get back to Karl in a little bit.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired March 24, 2003 - 07:09 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: CentCom confirming what you and Barbara were just talking about that a U.S. Apache helicopter is missing in Iraq, which is the most advanced attack helicopter in the world. And we're going to take a look now at some of those pictures you were referring to, Bill, that were seen on Iraqi TV, showing video of what appeared to be an Apache chopper intact and upright.
Karl Penhaul is embedded with the Army 5th Corps, 11th Attack Helicopter Regiment. He has more by way of telephone.
Karl -- what have you seen from there?
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the Apache helicopters were in action (UNINTELLIGIBLE) with Republican Guard units. They (UNINTELLIGIBLE) their base south of Iraq around midnight and returned about three hours later.
I was flying on a command and control helicopter, the back helicopter, calling the first company of those attack helicopters into battle.
The mission for the helicopters was supposedly to attack the 2nd Armored Brigade as part of the Medina division of the Republican Guard, and they were to destroy T-72 tanks and artillery pieces.
Nevertheless, what happened in practice, Paula, was that as they flew into the area of where they were due to start the battle, the helicopters came under very heavy anti-aircraft and artillery fire.
Some of the pilots were telling me this morning it didn't only from military gunning placements around the area, but it also came from residential areas. They have their fears now that one of the strategies is either to place military emplacements in residential areas, or that civilians themselves have declared open season on coalition aircraft going into the area -- Paula.
ZAHN: Karl, once they encountered the stiff resistance, were any of them able to tell you whether they completed their objective?
PENHAUL: I was talking to many of them this morning. They were showing me their aircraft that they successfully got back to the base here. Most of those aircraft do show evidence of gunshot impacts. Some of them obviously impacts from fairly small arms fire from assault rifles and such like. Others show signs that they were from larger rounds, possibly anti-aircraft rounds.
And because of the intensity of the anti-aircraft fire, most of these pilots tell me they were not able to complete their mission. They weren't able to attack the Republican Guard (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Most of the time that they spent in that battle zone was defending themselves and trying to get out alive -- Paula.
ZAHN: Karl Penhaul, we'll come back to you a little bit later, and maybe the wind won't be blowing so hard, somewhat obscuring his report there. But I can tell you from his earlier report, he talked with a couple of pilots who said it was like being in a hornet's nest with fire coming from all sides. He said in some cases the pilots said they sustained 15 to 20 rounds.
We're going to try to get back to Karl in a little bit.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
