Russian-made Mi-171 likely operated by a covert US Military Unit lands in North Carolina
Residents and officials in a North Carolina county said no terrorists were involved when a Russian-made Mil Mi-171E (which is a variant of the Soviet Era Mil Mi-17, NATO reporting name: Hip, featuring VK-2500-03 engines to operate in extreme temperature limits, from −58 to 50 Celsius) helicopter likely operated by a covert US Military Unit with several troops aboard recently landed in Montgomery County.
The gray Mi-171 helicopter set down in a field near the intersection of Highway 109 and Old Thayer Mill Road, about 6 miles northwest of Troy.
The Mi-171E aircraft unloaded at least seven troops with backpacks who vanished into nearby woods, according to various reports.
The situation was further exacerbated by the rapid spread of information on social media, with rumors ranging from potential terrorist activity to an undisclosed military operation.
Actually, US operated Mi-17/Mi-171 helicopters are associated with a notably covert US military aviation unit, the Aviation Technology Office (ATO).
As reported by Eurasian Times, it is most likely that the ATO, a highly classified division of the US Army located at Felker Army Airfield in Fort Eustis, Virginia, is also the primary operator of the Mi-171E1 helicopter that landed in Eldorado.
The ATO, formerly the Flight Concepts Division (FCD), has longstanding connections with the CIA and is known for managing foreign-manufactured aircraft, including Mi-17 models.
A big miscommunication
As noted by Alert 5, a humorous Facebook message posted by a local business, Eldorado Outpost, in the aftermath of the incident added to the intrigue. The post jokingly offered free parking for any large vehicles, including helicopters, planes, and hot air balloons, while requesting visitors to leave their contact information if departing overnight.
“It was a big miscommunication,” said Lee Hudson, who owns property nearby. “Everything was aboveboard. They are not terrorists.”
The troops, who landed at the edge of the Uwharrie National Forest, left the next day on the helicopter, whose departure was caught on video by at least one person, News Nation reports.
According to Alert 5, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office later clarified the situation, confirming that the incident was a US Army training exercise. The Army acknowledged a breakdown in communication that led to the public confusion. The use of a non-US military helicopter for the exercise raised eyebrows, but the Army has yet to provide specific details on the rationale behind this decision.
Before the Mi-171 landed, the US Army contacted a nearby store, whose former owner also owned the field where it landed, Hudson said.
But the store was recently sold to new owners — and a person answering the store phone gave the go-ahead for the helicopter landing, he said. However, the actual owner of the field was not contacted in advance, according to Hudson.
“The previous owners of the store who still own the land didn’t know what was going on,” Hudson said. “The Army did what they were supposed to do. The Army thought they had permission.”
The most widely operated helicopter in history
The Mil Mi-17 is a medium multipurpose two-engine turbo-shaft helicopter of classic arrangement with a five-bladed main rotor and a three-bladed anti-torque tail rotor, designed predominantly for transport of personnel.
The Mi-17 helicopter, unlike its predecessor – Mi-8 helicopter – has a three-bladed anti-torque rotor at the left rear side, and the intake openings are equipped with deflectors separating solid particles from air (sand, dust, etc.).
Its cockpit has three seats. The cargo compartment with its dimensions of 5.34 metres of length, 2.32 m of width, and 1.8 m of height, has a sliding door at the front left part of the fuselage and, at the rear, a large, double-wing loading door. It has a three-wheel non-retractable landing gear with a front double-tyred leg. An additional fuel tank can be mounted on each side of the fuselage to carry 1,830 litres of fuel in total.
In 2021 the website of JSC Russian Helicopters, the manufacturer, said that the Mi-8/17 was “the most widely operated helicopter in history.”
The CIA as well as other arm of the US government and some elements of the US military operate the helicopter too.
In 2021, another Mi-17 touched down in North Carolina when it did an emergency landing in someone’s backyard. A dark gray Bell 407 helicopter arrived with replacement parts during the recovery operation, sparking considerable local curiosity and disruption.