.jpg) A Bell UH-1H of the Salvadoran Air Force, similar to the one involved in the bombing | |
| Bombing | |
|---|---|
| Date | 23 October 1984 |
| Summary | In-flight bombing and crash |
| Site | Joateca, Morazán, El Salvador 13°53′58″N 88°03′02″W / 13.89944°N 88.05056°W |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Bell UH-1H |
| Operator | Salvadoran Air Force |
| Registration | 284 |
| Flight origin | Joateca, El Salvador |
| Destination | Los Comandos Airport, San Francisco Gotera, El Salvador |
| Occupants | 14 |
| Passengers | 11 |
| Crew | 3 |
| Fatalities | 14 (all) |
| Survivors | 0 |
On 23 October 1984, the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) bombed a Bell UH-1H of the Salvadoran Air Force in Joateca, El Salvador during the Salvadoran Civil War. The bombing killed all 14 occupants on board the helicopter, including Salvadoran lieutenant colonel Domingo Monterrosa who commanded the American-trained Atlácatl Battalion.
The FMLN planted dynamite inside of a radio transmitter that they portrayed as being the primary transmitter for Radio Venceremos, a radio station that the FMLN operated. Monterrosa sought to capture the transmitter as a war trophy, and the dynamite detonated as the helicopter climbed 1,000 feet (300 m) in altitude. The Salvadoran military claimed that the helicopter crashed due to a mechanical failure while the FMLN claimed that it had shot down the aircraft with heavy machine gun fire. The Salvadoran military ultimately determined that a bomb took down the helicopter one month after the bombing.