The Army made a surprise helicopter landing in Poland, hung out with villagers

By Dan Lamothe September 10 at 3:26 PM


U.S. helicopters take off at in a field in Gruta, Poland, after six of them made an unplanned landing in poor visibility on Tuesday. Six more U.S. helicopters choppers made an unplanned landing in the nearby village of Nowa Wies. (AP Photo/Daniel Zurawski)

U.S. troops occasionally have to land their aircraft unexpectedly, giving rise to awkward situations. Consider the case of a transport plane that landed on an African highway in July while carrying U.S. troops, prompting a sheepish Marine colonel to apologize for the commotion.


Even that appears to pale in comparison to the unexpected landing of numerous Army helicopters in Poland on Tuesday, however.

Bloomberg News reports that six of them landed in a rapeseed field in the village of Gruta, some 140 miles north of Warsaw, and asked villagers where they were. The surprise landing spooked some people at first, said Halina Kowalkowska, the village’s head, in an interview with Bloomberg.


“We know that security is the most important thing right now,” Kowalkowska told Bloomberg. “But thank God it was the Americans.”


The Associated Press reports
that 12 helicopters in total, including Black Hawks and Chinooks, made a surprise landing due to poor visibility and stormy weather. A Polish army spokesman, Lt. Col. Artur Golawski, told the AP that the aircraft were returning from a military exercise, Saber Junction, in Lithuania to their temporary base in Miroslawiec, Poland. Bad weather forced them to land, the AP said.


A U.S. Army spokeman at the Pentagon referred comment to Army officials in Europe. They could not immediately be reached for comment. The helicopters appear to have turned into a tourist attraction of sorts, however:


Residents of the village of Gruta, Poland, pose for a photo with U.S. troops and their Chinook helicopter on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Celestyna Cichocka)


U.S. troops and their Chinook helicopter wait in the middle of a field in Gruta, Poland, for clearance to take off on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Daniel Murawski)


U.S. helicopters and their crews are seen on Sept. 9 in Gruta, Poland, after making an emergency landing in heavy fog. AFP PHOTO/ STANISLAW RAGINIAKSTANISLAW RAGINIAK/AFP/Getty Images

Dan Lamothe covers national security for The Washington Post and anchors its military blog, Checkpoint.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2014/09/10/the-army-made-a-surprise-helicopter-landing-in-poland-hung-out-with-villagers/