Chinook Helicopter Crash In Afghanistan That Claimed 38 U.S. And Afghan Soldiers Was Shot Down By RPG Fire

U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Joel Beaulieu watches as a CH-47 Chinook helicopter arrives with members of the provincial government and the provincial reconstruction team to attend a shura with local elders in the Purchaman district of Afghanistan's Farah province, Sept. 26, 2011. Beaulieu is assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 182nd Infantry Regiment. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airmen Alexandra Hoachlander

NATO Chopper Downed By RPG Fire, Report Finds -- L.A. Times

A Chinook helicopter crash in Afghanistan in August that killed 38 U.S. and Afghan troops, including 17 Navy Seals, was caused by rocket-propelled grenade fire from Taliban fighters, not by any tactical mistakes by the special operations task force commanding the operation, a U.S military investigation concluded.

As the CH-47 helicopter was descending to a landing zone in Wardak province, it was struck by an RPG, which sheared off a rear rotor blade and caused the craft to plummet 150 feet into a dry creek bed, where it exploded in a large fireball and killed everyone aboard, Brig Gen. Jeffrey N. Colt, who conducted the investigation, found.

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My Comment: Bottom line .... it was a lucky shot that brought down this helicopter. There is more info here.