On the north side of the road.

Memorial comprises a two-meter-high granite monument, including a bronze plate at its base listing victims of the 1982 Chinook helicopter accident. Monument was erected in 2003. 

In one of the deadliest military aviation accidents in Europe since the end of World War II, a U.S. Army CH-47C Chinook helicopter (74-22292), carrying French, British, German and U.S. servicemembers and civilians, crashed shortly after takeoff during an air show marking the 375th anniversary of the founding of the city of Mannheim on 11 September 1982. All 46 on board died, including 23 French paratroopers, 9 British soldiers, 6 West Germans, and 8 Americans. Among them were a five-member U.S. flight crew, one staff officer from U.S. Army Europe Headquarters, and two Armed Forces Network journalists covering the event.

The onboard parachutists were attempting to set a world record by forming the largest joined circle of free-falling sky divers to that time. All 46 of the crew and parachutists died upon impact, including one parachutist, who either attempted to escape or was thrown free, and fell to his death. Investigators later determined that a mechanical failure caused the rotor blade to separate mid-flight, sending the aircraft plummeting onto the Mannheim-Heidelberg Autobahn before it exploded. Reportedly, the aircrew had attempted to land the aircraft away from crowds gathered to view the airshow. 

Source of information: www.army.mil, www.feuerwehrgeschichte-mannheim.de, de.wikipedia.org, www.usarmygermany.com, military-database.de

Source of photos: www.mannheim24.de, www.feuerwehrgeschichte-mannheim.de, http://parasavoie.50ans.free.fr/

ZUM DENKEN AN DIE OPFER

DES HUBSCHRAUBERUNGLÜCKS

AM 11. SEPTEMBER 1982

INTERNATIONALE LUFTSCHIFFERTAGE

English Translation:

IN MEMORY OF THE VICTIMS

OF THE HELICOPTER ACCIDENT

ON 11. SEPTEMBER 1982

INTERNATIONAL AIRSHIP DAYS