New Zealand ingenuity and a Defence Force LAV vehicle helped rescue a stranded United States helicopter stuck in an Afghanistan danger zone.
The US Army Apache helicopter broke down in the Bamyan province last month after debris damaged its engine.
It was in an exposed area on the Bamyan airfield and it was decided the chopper should be towed to the safety of Kiwi Base -- home of the New Zealand Provincial Reconstruction Team (NZPRT).
Despite the helicopter being on the wrong side of the perimeter wire and the ditch, the NZPRT workshop team built a tow bar and led the recovery team of New Zealand and American army personnel.
The Apache had a very limited threshold for sideways tilt and needed a lot of ground preparation and load spreading using sheets of plywood.
Sergeant George Alexander, from the NZPRT guided the LAV, as it slowly pulled the eight tonne helicopter around a corner, across the ditch and up the hill into the base.
US maintenance crew chief Sergeant Judy Beltowski praised the ingenuity and quick action of the NZPRT personnel.
"I've never seen that level of craftsmanship from a maintenance team anywhere. Whatever we needed the NZPRT provided, and if they didn't have it, they made it."
It took two days to make the repairs and the Apache returned to its home base on June 22.
