There was a little excitement above a soybean field Thursday afternoon, about 3 miles SW of Rutland, Illinois. An Army National Guard Chinook helicopter was on a routine training mission when a transmission alarm sounded for the forward rotor. The CH47D Chinook was piloted by Chief Warrant Officer 4 (CW4) Greenwald, who performed a precautionary landing in the bean field next to Marshall County Road 200 North, and just west of I39. He expertly landed the aircraft with no damaged, except a few crushed bean stalks. The aircraft and crew are assigned to “F” Company, 1^st Battalion, 106^th Aviation based in Peoria, Illinois, and are veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The landing site became an immediate public relations opportunity for the Illinois National Guard, as area residents stopped by to chat with the crew. They brought their friends, neighbors, kids and grandkids with them. Everyone was awestruck with the size of the aircraft, and was very impressed with the courtesy and professionalism of the crew members.

The sight-seeing activity increased on Friday morning, as ground support members arrived to remove the defective transmission, and replace it with a new one. There were four maintenance trucks, a crane, and a transporter truck. One of the ground support members said this was their scheduled Annual Training period, and this was a good training opportunity to perform an Aircraft Recovery Operation. This will exercise the unit’s ability to support the operation, far removed from the unit’s Base of Operations.

For more photos, click here.