The helicopter fired a bullet as it exited a hangar at the Wattisham Flying Station
Army investigates after Apache attack helicopter mistakenly opened fire on Suffolk military base
The helicopter fired a bullet as it exited a hangar at the Wattisham Flying Station on Wednesday
The incident occurred after the helicopter malfunctioned during a live fire training exercise and was forced to land at Sculthorpe training field in Norfolk, according to The Sun
The pilots returned to their base in Wattisham, Suffolk, where the helicopter needed repair and the « careless discharge » occurred, the newspaper said
The helicopter had emerged from a hangar – where it had been kept overnight – when it launched a wandering practice round, which has yet to be found
« We are aware of an incident at Wattisham Air Station which is under investigation, » the spokeswoman said
The Apache attack helicopter, flown by the Army Air Corps, is armed with a 30mm automatic cannon, 70mm wing-mounted rockets and Hellfire missiles, according to the ministry’s website of Defense
The twin-engine four-blade helicopter is designed for day or night missions and in conditions ranging from desert heat to arctic cold
In May, an Apache helicopter was involved in a near miss with an air ambulance while taking off from Wattisham
The Apache reported that the air ambulance passed about 150 feet (45 m) above it and that both planes were traveling over 100 mph when the incident occurred
A report by the UK Airprox Board estimated the risk of collision to be low « because each commander was visual with the other aircraft »
© 2020 Sky France
Attack helicopter, Boeing AH-64 Apache, helicopter, Suffolk, Wattisham airfield
News from around the world – GB – Apache attack helicopter opens fire by mistake at the Suffolk military base
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– Army investigates after Apache attack helicopter mistakenly opened fire on military base in Suffolk
– Apache attack helicopter opens fire at Suffolk base
SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com