The world had suddenly gone to shit.
Super Six-One spun wildly out of control, its tail rotor destroyed by an RPG.
They were descending rapidly, and the best efforts of pilots "Elvis" Wolcott and "Bull" Briley did little to forestall the inevitable.
In the back of the chopper, Delta SSG Dan Busch heard the chatter over the comms suddenly cease in stunned silence, then resume with greater urgency.
"Six-One is hit!"
"Wolcott's bird is hit!"
"We have a Black Hawk going down!"
Then there was a loud crash, and the world went dark.
Busch crawled painfully from the wreckage of Super Six-One. The Black Hawk had gone down in a narrow street in the heart of Mogadishu. All around them, armed Somalis had begun to converge on the downed chopper.
He could hear one of the crew chiefs groaning in pain. The other guys were silent, and he couldn't tell if they were still alive.
He didn't know how long he'd been unconscious, but the comm chatter indicated that a team was en route to his position.
Enemy gunfire exploded around him, the rounds hissing dangerously close. Busch returned fire, unaware that a group of Sammies were sneaking up behind him with a technical.
Wincing in pain, Busch took down a pair of Somali gunmen who had charged on his position.
The Habir Gedr militiamen were approaching, and Busch checked his six in time to see them drawing close.
He raised his rifle, and another fusillade of enemy fire erupted around him.
Busch grunted in agony as a volley of shots struck his left side, ringing off the chopper's steel skin.
Dropping to the ground, he took cover behind the crashed hull. He could hear the SAR bird approaching, but the area was still too hot to attempt a landing.
Suddenly the approaching Sammies collapsed in a heap as they were cut down by a barrage of fire.
Lt. Tom DiTomasso and some men from Ranger Chalk Two had arrived, and were clearing the immediate area around the crash site.
Clouds of dust swirled around Busch as the SAR Little Bird, call sign Star 4-1, landed in the narrow street nearby.
One of the rescue pilots, Chief Warrant Officer Keith Jones, disembarked under covering fire from Ranger Chalk Two and moved to assist Busch. His copilot, CW3 Karl Meier, kept the rotors spinning.
"C'mon buddy, we're getting you outta here."
-continued below-
Super Six-One spun wildly out of control, its tail rotor destroyed by an RPG.
They were descending rapidly, and the best efforts of pilots "Elvis" Wolcott and "Bull" Briley did little to forestall the inevitable.
In the back of the chopper, Delta SSG Dan Busch heard the chatter over the comms suddenly cease in stunned silence, then resume with greater urgency.
"Six-One is hit!"
"Wolcott's bird is hit!"
"We have a Black Hawk going down!"
Then there was a loud crash, and the world went dark.
Busch crawled painfully from the wreckage of Super Six-One. The Black Hawk had gone down in a narrow street in the heart of Mogadishu. All around them, armed Somalis had begun to converge on the downed chopper.
He could hear one of the crew chiefs groaning in pain. The other guys were silent, and he couldn't tell if they were still alive.
He didn't know how long he'd been unconscious, but the comm chatter indicated that a team was en route to his position.
Enemy gunfire exploded around him, the rounds hissing dangerously close. Busch returned fire, unaware that a group of Sammies were sneaking up behind him with a technical.
Wincing in pain, Busch took down a pair of Somali gunmen who had charged on his position.
The Habir Gedr militiamen were approaching, and Busch checked his six in time to see them drawing close.
He raised his rifle, and another fusillade of enemy fire erupted around him.
Busch grunted in agony as a volley of shots struck his left side, ringing off the chopper's steel skin.
Dropping to the ground, he took cover behind the crashed hull. He could hear the SAR bird approaching, but the area was still too hot to attempt a landing.
Suddenly the approaching Sammies collapsed in a heap as they were cut down by a barrage of fire.
Lt. Tom DiTomasso and some men from Ranger Chalk Two had arrived, and were clearing the immediate area around the crash site.
Clouds of dust swirled around Busch as the SAR Little Bird, call sign Star 4-1, landed in the narrow street nearby.
One of the rescue pilots, Chief Warrant Officer Keith Jones, disembarked under covering fire from Ranger Chalk Two and moved to assist Busch. His copilot, CW3 Karl Meier, kept the rotors spinning.
"C'mon buddy, we're getting you outta here."
-continued below-
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