An Army helicopter had to make an emergency landing in a field on Monday and quickly became a popular attraction near a small German town.
The Chinook was flying from Katterbach in Bavaria to take part in the Saber Strike 18 exercise in Poland when overheating prompted the pilot to land near Delitzsch as a safety precaution, Stars and Stripes reported.
The helicopter drew crowds of visitors.
“The moment the helicopter went down, people started to come to the field to check it out,” said Delitzch police chief Klaus-Dieter Kablitz. “There are almost always between 100-150 people there (on the field). For such a small town, this is an attraction.”
No crew members were injured during the emergency landing, according to Stars and Stripes. U.S. soldiers were securing the site along with German military police, an Army spokesman said in the report.
While the Army investigates why the helicopter began to overheat, replacement parts were said to be en route to the landing site and expected to arrive on Thursday.
A second U.S. helicopter landed nearby to pick up the equipment that the downed Chinook had been transporting to Poland.
The Chinook is expected to return to Bavaria once it is fixed.
“Considering how huge this type of helicopter is, it is amazing that it can fly at all,” Kablitz said in the report.
