The crash of CH-47 in Wardak

On August 6, 2011, a NATO Chinook CH-47 helicopter was shot down by a rocket from the ground in the Afghan province of Wardak , west of Kabul . Killed all 38 people on board. There were American and Afghan military personnel in the helicopter: 22 Fur Seals (SEAL) from the Naval Special Forces Group (NSWDG; SEAL, unit 6), 5 military personnel from the 160th Special Purpose Aviation Regiment , 3 military personnel from the US Air Force combat dispatch control department, military dog handler , civilian translator , 7 soldiers from the special forces of the National Army of Afghanistan and a service dog ^[1] . Military coalition officials, on condition of anonymity, reported that the helicopter was shot down by the Taliban using a hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher ^{[2] [3] [4]} .

NATO helicopter crash on August 6, 2011
Photo from the archive of the CH-47 Chinook helicopter similar to the downed one
General information
date of	August 6, 2011
Cause	Shot by a rocket from the ground
A place	Wardak Province, Afghanistan
Dead	All: 38 people, 1 dog
The wounded
Aircraft
Model	Boeing CH-47 Chinook
Affiliation	160th Special Purpose Aviation Regiment
Dead	38
Survivors	0

The death in this plane crash of 31 US special forces was the largest loss of the US Armed Forces since the start of operations in Afghanistan in 2001 ^{[5] [6]} .

Twenty-two Fur Seals were members of the Naval Task Force (NSWDG), also known as Team 6 SEAL, a unit whose fighters destroyed Osama bin Laden . However, not one of the victims directly participated in this operation ^[7] .

US President Barack Obama at a military base in Dover personally attended a farewell ceremony with thirty US troops on board a helicopter ^[8] .