List of aviation accidents and incidents during the Iraq War

This list of aviation shootdowns and accidents during the Iraq War includes incidents with Coalition and civilian aircraft during the Iraq War.

According to media reports, 129 helicopters and 24 fixed-wing aircraft have been lost in Iraq since the 2003 invasion, up to February 2009. Of these incidents, 46 have been attributed to hostile fire, such as anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missiles. In March 2007, Brig. Gen. Stephen Mundt said that 130 helicopters had been lost in both Iraq and Afghanistan, about a third to hostile fire, and he was concerned that they were not being replaced fast enough. A report published in "Aircraft Survivability" in Summer 2010 gave a total of 375 U.S. helicopters lost in Iraq and Afghanistan up to 2009. Of these, 70 were downed by hostile fire, with the other 305 losses classified as non-hostile / non-combat events.

Unmanned aircraft of any type are not included in the list below.

At least 283 personnel have been killed in helicopter crashes since the invasion, and 19 have died in fixed-wing crashes.

Since the beginning of the invasion helicopters were the target of attacks with "aerial improvised explosive devices" (home-made bombs). In early 2007, the U.S. Army announced that the Iraqi resistance had developed a strategy for attacking American helicopters. This was confirmed by documents captured from Iraqi insurgents. A U.S. deputy commanding general in Iraq said that the average month in 2006 and 2007 saw about 17 attacks against helicopters. Efforts to reduce losses included more training for helicopter pilots and improvements in tactics and aircraft defenses. In the fall of 2007, the U.S. military deployed the more advanced V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. According to the U.S. military, this aircraft flies much higher and faster than helicopters and has six to seven times more survivability than the widely used CH-46.

3 May - Two US Marine F-18's went down over Iraq, both pilots lost.

19 March - AH-6J, 25364, 1-160th, shot down vicinity of Amiriyah by SA-XX while conducting precision close air support during day ops. 2 × pilots rescued by Special Operations forces.

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