Embassy of the United States

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U.S. Chinook helicopter equipped with a special type of offloading capability called "sling loading" delivering humanitarian assistance to the earthquake- affected areas.

Helicopter Relief Flights Deliver Record Amounts Of Humanitarian Assistance: 28 Million Pounds Of Supplies

Islamabad - U.S. CH 47 Chinook helicopters hit a new record when recently they delivered a cumulative total of 28 million pounds (14,000 tons) of humanitarian aid since earthquake relief operations began in October.

Currently composed of eight CH 47 Chinook helicopters and four Royal Australian Air Force S-70 helicopters, U.S./coalition forces have been flying relief missions to the affected area since the earthquake hit. Task Force Eagle previously hit a milestone of 20 million pounds on February 1, 2006.

As relief efforts transition to long-term reconstruction, the U.S. Disaster Assistance Center Pakistan’s helicopter capability continues to support the people of the earthquake affected area. CH 47 Chinook helicopters fly daily to the Neelum, Jelum and Allai valleys. In addition to humanitarian aid, Chinooks have been delivering supplies such as seeds and fertilizer so that the agrarian region will be able to plant a spring crop.

Using sling loads to hover and drop the relief supplies rather than hand-loading and unloading, the helicopters have shaved about half an hour from the time required to deliver their cargo. Since sling loading was initiated on December 15, the average daily capacity of relief supplies has doubled to about 100 short tons.