NAS Patuxent River, Md. –
An AH-1W Super Cobra launched as Dash-4 in a division of Cobras for a daytime electronic warfare and “battle drills” mission in the local warning area. After several simulated engagements, the Dash-4 helicopter commander in the front seat transferred controls to the copilot in the rear seat. The helicopter commander then passed a “heads down” over the intercom and proceeded to focus on the forward-looking infrared display in an attempt to find the Dash-3 aircraft.
A minute later, 300 feet over the trees, the copilot yanked the Cobra into a hard right-hand turn in response to a simulated air threat called over the radio by the division leader. In the middle of the turn, the copilot looked up and left to reacquire his section lead, and as he did, his head became pinned against the canopy. Unable to reference either his instruments or the ground, the copilot said, “My head’s stuck,” over the intercom and nothing else. The helicopter commander heard the call but thought nothing of it. He remained focused on the FLIR presentation until he saw trees in his peripheral vision, then joined the copilot in an attempt to maintain control of the helicopter. The Cobra hit the trees and lost the tail boom before coming to rest on its right side. During the crash, the helicopter commander broke his arm and ankle, and the copilot sustained severe back injuries.
The copilot was able to egress only after pulling his head out of the stuck helmet, and he then helped the helicopter commander out of the cockpit. The base search and rescue helo picked them up some time later.
