Impressive footage: Syrian gunship helicopter hit by the rebel fire, spins and then explodes mid-air

Brought to my attention by a reader, the following video shows a Syrian Mil Mi-8/17 Hip gunship helicopter spinning towards the ground after being hit at medium/high altitude on a mission near Idlib on Oct. 17.

The chopper leaves a trail of white smoke before exploding mid-air.

SA-7 MANPADS (Man Portable Air Defense Systems) have been reported in use by the Free Syrian Army and the one filmed near Idlib could have been hit by one of those shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles (SAMs).

About David Cenciotti
David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.