(from the article) A British helicopter pilot has been shot dead by elephant poachers in Tanzania, a conservation charity has said.

Englishman Roger Gower was helping authorities in Tanzania track the criminals when they fired on his aircraft, the Friedkin Conservation Fund said.

He said: "Roger was killed while piloting a helicopter during a co-ordinated effort with the Tanzanian wildlife authorities to track down and arrest active elephant poachers. In the course of this action the poachers fired upon the helicopter and Roger was fatally wounded.

Pictures at the link - Bullet holes included - seat - floor

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/he ... er-7278535

these pilots need to take a lesson from viet nam era chopper pilots etc. Kevlar seat pans...........

If people want to go to Africa to hunt something..... why not hunt poachers instead of lions, tigers, elefunts and ry-nose? ..... they should organise 'poacher hunting tours' where people can stalk poachers instead of aminals?

Being shot at is always a worry around here... alot of people grow plants they shouldn't.... and if accidently flying over, they might get a bit excited ant take a shot...

A terrible shame for that chopper pilot.... condolences...

I hope they catch the fuckers that did it

I wonder what altitude he was flying at?
I once chased some drug runners in my gyro, the instant I relized they were trying to evade me I climbed up to 2000 feet.
Since his helo had more thsn one hole, my guess is he was considerably closer....
Poor tactics,no armor, death sentance for being caught a poacher and in the veldt 1000 miles from anywhere all adds up to a news headline.

.

We had some shit like that happen up here in the 1990's

Poachers had been coming into our parks killing Elk and Moose on a big scale , they were selling the meat for big bucks

Our game warden's were unarmed , poachers were armed of course , lives were threatened , wardens were chicken to go in there at night so they formed a big perimeter hoping to trap them when they came out in the morning.

Then the poachers started putting snipers high in the mountain and shoot down toward the headlights of any vehicles that tried to come around.

Publicity went quiet after that , they got it stopped somehow , rumored they embedded a bunch of armed soldiers and police all thru the hills and had war games.

.