Uploaded May 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
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On 17 February 1978, a British Army Gazelle helicopter, serial number XX404, went down near Jonesborough, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, after being fired at by a Provisional IRA unit from the South Armagh Brigade. The IRA unit was involved at the time in a gun battle with a Green Jackets observation post deployed in the area, and the helicopter was sent in to support the ground troops. The helicopter crashed after the pilot lost control of the aircraft whilst evading ground fire.The Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Ian Corden-Lloyd, along with Captain Philip Schofield and Sergeant Ives flew from the battalion base at Bessbrook Mill to assess the situation and provide information to the troops. They were escorted by a Scout helicopter with an Airborne Reaction Force (ARF), comprising a medic and three soldiers from the 2nd Bn Light Infantry, While hovering over the scene of the engagement, the Gazelle received a barrage of 7.62 mm tracer rounds. The pilot lost control of the aircraft during a turn at high speed to avoid the stream of fire. The Gazelle (serial number XX404) hit a wall and crashed on a field, some 2 km from Jonesborough.According to the crew and passengers of the Scout, the Gazelle hit the ground twice after losing power, with its rotor blades trashing into the soil following the second impact, and then cartwheeled across the field. The Scout landed the ARF still under IRA fire. The soldiers rushed to the wrecked helicopter, some 100 metres away from the site of the initial crash.
Corden-Lloyd was killed and the other two passengers were wounded. The machine came to rest on its right side. The pilot remained trapped inside the wreckage, but he survived thanks to his helmet.The IRA later claimed they had shot at the helicopter with an M60 machine gun.The IRA unit vanished into the Dromad woods to the Republic of Ireland. Some Gardaí witnessed the attack from the other side of the border
This video has no sound
On 17 February 1978, a British Army Gazelle helicopter, serial number XX404, went down near Jonesborough, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, after being fired at by a Provisional IRA unit from the South Armagh Brigade. The IRA unit was involved at the time in a gun battle with a Green Jackets observation post deployed in the area, and the helicopter was sent in to support the ground troops. The helicopter crashed after the pilot lost control of the aircraft whilst evading ground fire.The Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Ian Corden-Lloyd, along with Captain Philip Schofield and Sergeant Ives flew from the battalion base at Bessbrook Mill to assess the situation and provide information to the troops. They were escorted by a Scout helicopter with an Airborne Reaction Force (ARF), comprising a medic and three soldiers from the 2nd Bn Light Infantry, While hovering over the scene of the engagement, the Gazelle received a barrage of 7.62 mm tracer rounds. The pilot lost control of the aircraft during a turn at high speed to avoid the stream of fire. The Gazelle (serial number XX404) hit a wall and crashed on a field, some 2 km from Jonesborough.According to the crew and passengers of the Scout, the Gazelle hit the ground twice after losing power, with its rotor blades trashing into the soil following the second impact, and then cartwheeled across the field. The Scout landed the ARF still under IRA fire. The soldiers rushed to the wrecked helicopter, some 100 metres away from the site of the initial crash.
Corden-Lloyd was killed and the other two passengers were wounded. The machine came to rest on its right side. The pilot remained trapped inside the wreckage, but he survived thanks to his helmet.The IRA later claimed they had shot at the helicopter with an M60 machine gun.The IRA unit vanished into the Dromad woods to the Republic of Ireland. Some Gardaí witnessed the attack from the other side of the border
