He Watched an RPG Fly Right at Him 😳

TL;DR

A helicopter pilot recounts dodging an RPG during the Battle of Roberts Ridge, where soldier Neil Roberts fell from the aircraft mid-combat.

Key Points

• 1.A pilot watched an RPG fly directly at him during a Chinook helicopter insertion. Under fire from RPK machine guns and RPGs, the pilot saw the rocket-propelled grenade approaching in slow motion before it exploded just behind the aircraft.
• 2.Neil Roberts fell off the back of the helicopter during the chaos. Roberts dropped approximately 12 feet, while the crew chief was hanging on a tether beneath the aircraft — a situation the pilot was unaware of at the time.
• 3.The damaged helicopter crash-landed in a valley after an uncontrolled slide to the right. Unable to stop the aircraft, the crew hit the ground with rudder-brake, survived, and were immediately told they had lost a man — prompting the decision to go back up the mountain to rescue or recover him.