As more photos becomeo available of the helicopter casualty in the raid which saw Osama Bin Laden killed, more questions get raised.  From the announcement late in the  Washington evening on Sunday 1st May, we know that four helicopters were used in the raid at Abbottabad in Pakistan, and that one crashed.  As usual, HeliHub.com has a page devoted to this accident, just in the same way we do for every accident.

However, press reports are now coming out with a number of photos of the fated helicopter, largely consumed by fire apparently started by its crew to destroy the aircraft.  For whatever reason, the tail ended up outside the perimeter wall and was not touched by the fire, and it is the photos of this tail which are stirring interest.  Check the photos here on the UK’s Daily Mail story, and ponder the following non-standard features of this Black Hawk:-

• The tail plane has a “flat coolie hat” cover over the centre area
• The stabiliser is not flat – it rises each side of the tail approx 15 degrees
• The stabiliser is swept
• The metal surfaces have an infra-red suppression finish similar to some V-22s

No wonder they tried to destroy it…

Jeremy Parkin – HeliHub.com