The Secret Team That Killed bin Laden

World News • May 2011 • Views: 1,272

By Marc Ambinder
May 2, 2011 | 9:39 a.m.
Updated: May 2, 2011 | 10:40 a.m.

From Ghazi Air Base in Pakistan, the modified MH-60 helicopters made their way to the garrison suburb of Abbottabad, about 30 miles from the center of Islamabad. Aboard were Navy SEALs, flown across the border from Afghanistan, along with tactical signals, intelligence collectors, and navigators using highly classified hyperspectral imagers.

After bursts of fire over 40 minutes, 22 people were killed or captured. One of the dead was Osama bin Laden, done in by a double tap — boom, boom — to the left side of his face. His body was aboard the choppers that made the trip back. One had experienced mechanical failure and was destroyed by U.S. forces, military and White House officials tell National Journal.

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9 comments

What, me worry? Mon, May 2, 2011 8:32:15am

It is SO AMAZING. All of the planning, the secrecy. Our awesome military and awesome president! It's totally James Bond stuff. I bet the movie is being written as we speak!

Today is a good day to be an American!

Achilles Tang Mon, May 2, 2011 10:02:31am

One of 4 highly critical and probably meticulously maintained choppers experiences a critical mechanical failure.

I doubt it.

Curt Mon, May 2, 2011 10:35:32am

re: #2 Naso Tang

One of 4 highly critical and probably meticulously maintained choppers experiences a critical mechanical failure.

I doubt it.

If you wish, but....when you operate on the edge, you stress your gear. On top of that, ever heard of the CH-53s in the Iranian Hostage rescue? How about "the fog of war." Happens...deal with it, complete the mission. They did, despite the loss of one bird.

Anyhow, helos are thousands of parts vibrating in the air all at once. Hard to maintain, and have plenty of failure modes.

Achilles Tang Mon, May 2, 2011 11:42:29am

Yes, I know about Iran. That was human error.

My doubts stand. You make it sound like choppers go down from mechanical failure all the time. They don't.

Buck Mon, May 2, 2011 12:11:56pm

re: #4 Naso Tang

Yes, I know about Iran. That was human error.

My doubts stand. You make it sound like choppers go down from mechanical failure all the time. They don't.

It did a hard landing because it was too close to the very high wall that chocked off the air under the blades.

The hard landing, although not hard enough to injure anyone, made it hard to restart. Perhaps if they had a bit of time, they might have been able to get it restarted, but SOP is to get out as soon as the mission is accomplished. Destroy the craft and double up in another.

After all no none know what the Pakistani army might have done if they woke up.

Achilles Tang Mon, May 2, 2011 1:00:47pm

If I were to guess, a hard landing would have been mine too.

However, that sounds terribly similar to Iran when it killed the mission, and would explain why we haven't heard more specifics about it (I haven't).

If this is the case there is a pilot probably out of a job.

Buck Mon, May 2, 2011 1:21:35pm

re: #6 Naso Tang

If I were to guess, a hard landing would have been mine too.

However, that sounds terribly similar to Iran when it killed the mission, and would explain why we haven't heard more specifics about it (I haven't).

If this is the case there is a pilot probably out of a job.

Very different than Iran. The Jimmy Carter version it was more than one copter and it was during the flight in (they never made it to the site).

The copter stalled during the landing, and the pilot still landed it with no injuries. He was too close to the wall, but that was luck of the draw. It could have happened to any of the pilots.

Achilles Tang Mon, May 2, 2011 1:30:07pm

In Iran a pilot taxied into an airplane at the desert staging base and both blew up. Pure human error.

If this chopper stalled because of a wall, I can just pretend I'm at the briefing where they said "watch out for that high wall or you could crash and kill everyone on board". There is no luck involved in picking your landing spot.

BishopX Mon, May 2, 2011 5:19:21pm

re: #8 Naso Tang

They did several practive runs at a mocked up compound in April. My guess is that they got something slightly wrong, either a permanent object that was characterized (like a ditch that they missed) or a object got added that they weren't counting on (like a car in the the LZ).

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