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Black Hawk Helicopter Crashes in Iraq

Aired May 09, 2003 - 15:09   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.


JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: We've been hearing CENTCOM chief Tommy Franks say that Iraq is still not a safe place for American soldiers. Today, more evidence of that.
For the very latest on the crash of a Black Hawk helicopter, let's go to our Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: And Judy, once again accidents as deadly as combat.

This appears to be an accident. A U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter from the Army's 4th Infantry Division, based in Fort Hood, Texas, has reported a crash in Iraq about two hours ago.

According to the initial reports, it appears that the Black Hawk helicopter, with a crew of four on board, hit a power line and crashed into the Tigris River in Iraq near Samarra. According to the initial reports, three Army soldiers are reported dead, one injured. Those were the entire complement of crew on the aircraft.

Again, no indication of hostile fire. It appears that this was an accident, that the helicopter ran into a power line. Again, three dead, one injured. The condition of that injured soldier, still not known at this time -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: Jamie, these helicopters remain in very wide use, we can assume, inside Iraq, right?

MCINTYRE: Absolutely. And of course, the Black Hawk is the workhorse of the U.S. Army's helicopter fleet. It's primarily a transport helicopter but also can be armed and they're used for just about everything. It's a very good helicopter, but that doesn't help you if you run into a power line.

WOODRUFF: All right, Jamie McIntyre, thank you very much.

We also know -- we can report with sadness the death of another journalist in Iraq today. Elizabeth Neuffer, correspondent for the "Boston Globe," killed early this morning in a car crash in Iraq.

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 May 9, 2003 - 15:09   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: We've been hearing CENTCOM chief Tommy Franks say that Iraq is still not a safe place for American soldiers. Today, more evidence of that.
For the very latest on the crash of a Black Hawk helicopter, let's go to our Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: And Judy, once again accidents as deadly as combat.

This appears to be an accident. A U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter from the Army's 4th Infantry Division, based in Fort Hood, Texas, has reported a crash in Iraq about two hours ago.

According to the initial reports, it appears that the Black Hawk helicopter, with a crew of four on board, hit a power line and crashed into the Tigris River in Iraq near Samarra. According to the initial reports, three Army soldiers are reported dead, one injured. Those were the entire complement of crew on the aircraft.

Again, no indication of hostile fire. It appears that this was an accident, that the helicopter ran into a power line. Again, three dead, one injured. The condition of that injured soldier, still not known at this time -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: Jamie, these helicopters remain in very wide use, we can assume, inside Iraq, right?

MCINTYRE: Absolutely. And of course, the Black Hawk is the workhorse of the U.S. Army's helicopter fleet. It's primarily a transport helicopter but also can be armed and they're used for just about everything. It's a very good helicopter, but that doesn't help you if you run into a power line.

WOODRUFF: All right, Jamie McIntyre, thank you very much.

We also know -- we can report with sadness the death of another journalist in Iraq today. Elizabeth Neuffer, correspondent for the "Boston Globe," killed early this morning in a car crash in Iraq.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com