US CH-47 Performs Risky Special Unit Troops Insertion on Top of Mountain

YouTube / The Daily Aviation

King of Pinnacle Landings

Around the 3:50 mark, an American CH-47 performed a pinnacle landing during a US military exercise. This landing requires the Chinook’s rear end to be lowered on steep terrains, such as cliffs or rooftops, while its front is still in the air.

These are usually done when a traditional landing is impossible and are used in military operations like air assaults and mountain search and rescue.

As you may have guessed, pinnacle landings require precise maneuvers and have proven to be quite dangerous. Regardless, some pilots are more than talented enough to pull these off relatively easily. 

Just take a look at this one-gear pinnacle landing by an MH-47E pilot, for example:

This is just one of the many reasons why these flying school buses are slated to get their Block 3 upgrade soon, potentially increasing their service time beyond 2060. That’s more than a hundred years of service!