something to note.
taking small arms fire... so obviously we're speculating.... but..
helicopters are under enormous stresses when transitioning from forward flight to hover... you are basically beating the air into submission to keep the aircraft from smacking the ground which is what it is trying to do. couple that with the fact that it was Hot, heavy, and out of ground effect.. a simpey hydraulic line failure or an engine failure, would cause it to land hard... in this scenario the aircraft was probably not in a single engine state, so if an engine flamed out while transitioning into his hover he'd have to plant it... now way he could lift out under single engine power...
Now, could small arms fire have contributed to the cause of the mechanical failure...
I guess we'll never know...
