A spokesman for the Iowa National Guard says the pilot of a Chinook helicopter had to make an emergency landing Sunday after experiencing engine problems on the way to a routine training mission in Kentucky. Major Mike Wunn says the helicopter pilot noticed warning signs.
Really what happened down there was almost like on your car an indicator light would come on and you’d pull over to the side of the road. Well when you’re in a helicopter you have to land. The crew as I understand it started to see signs that there were problems with their hydraulic systems." Wunn says the pilot and crew of five landed in a soybean field.
"They were going to go to the airport, but they decided to go ahead and land so they would make sure they didn’t cause any additional damage to the helicopter, so they landed," Wunn says. The guard dispatched a recovery aircraft to the scene with mechanics who replaced a hydraulic pump, and both choppers headed back to Iowa. Wunn says the training mission may be rescheduled.