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| 90-00192 |
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| 26 November 2008: CH-47D Chinook helicopter 90-00192 sits on the ramp at Gray Army Airfield, Fort Lewis, Washington, awaiting a post RESET maintenance test flight. The RESET was completed by Lear Siegler Services, Incorporated - a division of URS Corporation. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger image. |
| 90-00192, Boeing D model kit number M3344, was a CH-47D helicopter. The U.S. Army acceptance date was 31 January 1991, at 3,003.5 aircraft hours. As of 28 September 2001, 90-00192 had accumulated 2,252.6 D model hours and 5,249.6 total aircraft hours. 90-00192 was a conversion from the original C model Chinook 74-22274. On 2 March 1990, 90-00192 was inducted into the D model program, conversion complete on 21 January 1991, and initially assigned to the United States Army Aviation Center, located at Fort Rucker, Alabama, on or about 5 February 1991. On or about 23 November 1991, 90-00192 was assigned to the unit that would eventually become B Company - "Sugar Bears North", 4th Battalion, 123rd Aviation Regiment, located at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. Fort Wainwright was the former historic Ladd Field of World War Two era fame. B Company was the former C Company, 228th Aviation Regiment (16 October 1987 - 24 June 1994). C Company was the former 242nd Assault Support Helicopter Company (ASHC) - "Muleskinners" (located in Alaska from November 1971 through 16 October 1987). When United States involvement in the Vietnam conflict ended, 242nd ASHC was re-located from the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) to Alaska. The aviation unit in Alaska at the time was designated the 236th ASHC, 19th Aviation Battalion (April 1971 - November 1971). When the 242nd ASHC re-located to Alaska and re-formed, the unit name changed from "Muleskinners" to "Sugar Bears" and the unit designation went from the 236th ASHC to the 242nd ASHC. At some point, the unit was split into two companies. One company remained in Alaska and became known as "Sugar Bears North". The other company, C Company, 1st Battalion, 228th Aviation Regiment, was relocated to Fort Kobbe, Panama and became known as "Sugar Bears South". At some point, in the mid 2000s, "Sugar Bears North" was redesignated B Company, 1st General Support Aviation Battalion (GSAB), 52nd Aviation Regiment, 16th Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB). In 2010, 90-00192 was deployed with the Sugar Bears to the country of Pakistan to assist in Disaster Relief Operations. At some point in 2011, 90-00192 deployed with the Sugar Bears to participate in security operations in the country of Afghanistan. On or about 27 October 2011, 90-00192 was lost due to an accident, details unknown. As of 27 October 2011, this aircraft was 36.3 years old and the last known location of 90-00192 was in Afghanistan assigned to B Company, 1-52 GSAB, 16th CAB. Aircraft status: Crashed. |
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| 26 November 2008: The Nose Art of CH-47D Chinook helicopter 90-00192 when it sat on the ramp at Gray Army Airfield, Fort Lewis, Washington, awaiting a post RESET maintenance test flight. What the image represents we do not know. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger image. |
| Pakistan Operations 2010 |
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| 21 September 2010: Task Force Denali CH-47D Chinook helicopter 90-00192 comes in for a landing at Kalam, a landing zone in flood-affected Swat valley, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, Pakistan. Who is that in the bubble window? Click-N-Go Here to view a larger image. |
| GHAZI AVIATION BASE, Pakistan, November 2010 - SPC Reese Von Rogatsz reporting. The fact that the pilots and crews of Task Force Denali's Chinook helicopters love to fly cannot be denied. Ask what they enjoy most about their jobs and the answer is, invariably, "flight". |
| Ask what they find most rewarding about their jobs here, and the simple answer is, "helping people". For that is the mission - aiding the flood victims in Pakistan's mountainous northern regions. |
| The CH-47 Chinook is a twin-turbine engine, tandem-rotor helicopter. It is the workhorse of TF Denali, providing lift and movement capability by carrying five tons of aid supplies or upwards of 100+ evacuees through the air. |
| Rumor has it that along with foodstuffs, blankets and construction materials - the "Sugar Bears", as the soldiers of Bravo company are known, have also distributed stuffed teddy bears. |
| "The children are the best part of this mission, hands down," said Capt. Travis Easterling, Bravo company commander, 1-52 General Support Aviation Battalion, 16th Combat Aviation Brigade. |
| "Kids in the U.S., kids in Pakistan … kids are kids," he continued, relating a recent experience at a landing zone in Swat valley where he observed local children play a version of hide-and-seek with the Pakistan military there. |
| They'd approach the aircraft and wave until the guards waved them off. And they'd run away, laughing. Then they would poke their heads out from around the corner to see if the "coast was clear" and come up right to the edge where they couldn't go any more, until forced to run away yet again. |
| "I gave a young girl on a helicopter a stuffed teddy bear," said Sgt. Aaron Franks, flight engineer, Bravo company, 1-52 GSAB, 16th CAB. "She didn't seem to know what it was. She smiled and looked a little scared, not sure if she should take it from me." Curiosity won out, and she did. |
| "As a whole, this is one of the most rewarding missions I've ever done," said Easterling, having deployed twice before to both theaters, Afghanistan and Iraq. In combat zones, you drop off soldiers and carry cargo, he explains. But it's hard to measure from the air your exact effect and contribution in the grand scheme of things. |
| He goes on a bit, comparing combat and humanitarian missions, saying that in Pakistan, it is a different feeling knowing he's here to help flood victims. He is able to actually see the village, the people and the children that he is bringing aid for or helping evacuate. "You see more of a direct impact," Easterling said. |
| For the professional development of the pilots and crews, whose experience levels vary greatly, he considers this to be a very valuable deployment due to the often demanding flying situations and environments encountered. In his words, out here, it's graduate-level-flying. |
| "You are constantly operating at a very high altitude, very high temperature, and high gross weight," said Easterling, coining the phrase "high, hot and heavy" with regard to the three most dangerous conditions for a helicopter. "You really have to know how to manage the aircraft." |
| The valleys present their share of obstacles. Winds that swirl upon hitting a mountain wall, landing zones that aren't always marked, tight spaces which require precise control, to name a few. |
| According to the "Sugar Bears" commander, these challenges have made for some very good pilots and some very good crewmembers in a short period of time. |
| Franks, who joined the U.S. Army as an infantryman and deployed once to Iraq, came over to aviation and has been flying for about a year and a half. A flight engineer, who might be called upon to fix the aircraft in flight in addition to performing routine yet crucial duties such as airspace surveillance and monitoring the airframe, he loves his job. |
| "Being in the air, seeing things from a different perspective, you see everything," he said. |
| Comparing a regular destination for relief flights, Kalam in Swat valley, two months ago to Kalam today - he points out that where there was once a crowd of 300 or 400 hundred people in the tree line waiting for rations, there is now but a group of 40 or 50 sitting on the outskirts of the landing zone, waiting to leave. |
| He notes that the rebuilding of destroyed and damaged roads, bridges and homes has progressed significantly, an observation confirmed by other crews. Trucks and other vehicles are flowing along roads and established detours in ever increasing numbers. There are fewer people seeking movement by air and, at times, less relief supplies to transport. The emphasis appears to be shifting toward winter stock. |
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| 12 October 2010: Task Force Denali CH-47D Chinook helicopter 90-00192, a.k.a. "Mudslinger", conducting single point refueling at Maira, a re-supply point in Kohistan Valley. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger image. |
| Afghanistan 2011 |
| The link below points to High Definition (HD) Video file of "Sugar Bear" CH-47D Chinook helicopters operating in Afghanistan in August 2011. Due to the large file size, it is recommended that you Right Click the link and select "Save Target As" to save the file to your computer before attempting to view. |
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Click-N-Go Here to view a High Definition Video B-roll of the 3rd Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment (Task Force Attack), located in Uruzgan province, with elements of the "Sugar Bears" from Alaska who assist coalition and Afghan national security forces in Regional Commands South and Southwest. Sound bites from Sgt. Daniel Scott, CW2 James Sickels. [5:49, 386.7 Mb, audio included]. |
| Crash Site Photographs |
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| 27 October 2011: CH-47D Chinook helicopter 90-00192 sits on the ground in Afghanistan after a destructive accident. With the rotor blades already cut off with a chain saw, the aircraft was undergoing disassembly for movement by the time this photograph was taken. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger image. |
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| 27 October 2011: CH-47D Chinook helicopter 90-00192 at the crash site in Afghanistan. A close examination of the photograph reveals a large crack in the vicinity of Station 482 extending around the airframe. The aft pylon and ramp area is almost separated from the main cabin Fuselage. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger image. |
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| 27 October 2011: CH-47D Chinook helicopter 90-00192 at the crash site in Afghanistan. The left side of the airframe is shown. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger image. |
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| 27 October 2011: CH-47D Chinook helicopter 90-00192 at the crash site in Afghanistan. The right interior of the ramp area is shown. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger image. |
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| 27 October 2011: CH-47D Chinook helicopter 90-00192 at the crash site in Afghanistan. The left interior of the ramp area is shown. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger image. |
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| 27 October 2011: CH-47D Chinook helicopter 90-00192 at the crash site in Afghanistan. The interior of the ramp area is shown. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger image. |
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| 27 October 2011: CH-47D Chinook helicopter 90-00192 at the crash site in Afghanistan. The number one engine area is shown detailing the sheet metal distortion on the fuselage skin. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger image. |
| This aircraft was piloted by: |
| CIV Alex Bromen, Maintenance Test Pilot, 2008 |
| CW4 / CIV Mark S. Morgan, Maintenance Examiner, 2000 - 2003, 2009 |
| Your Name Here. |
| This aircraft was crewed by: |
| CIV Paul Impson, Flight Engineer, 2008 |
| CIV Darryl Miyaji, Aerial Observer (OR), 2008 |
| Your Name Here. |
| Related Sites |
| Alaska Chinook News |
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