%%
%%
%%
%%
%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!
%%
%%
%%
%%
%%
[[quoteright:350:[[Film/KingKong1933 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/king_kong_airplane.jpg]]]]

A classic move for the [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever giant-monster]] genre, from ''Franchise/KingKong'' to ''Film/{{Cloverfield}}'', this is when a gigantic creature or similar menace lashes out and destroys a helicopter or other low-flying aircraft. The aircraft might be attacking the monster, circling too close to capture footage of the creature (news crews, beware this trope!), or simply passing by and/or trying to get the hell away from it. One of the many hazards of being an AcrophobicBird, and a standard tactic for filmmakers to justify a monster ''not'' simply being blown away by an air-to-ground missile. Of course, if the threat is ground-based, and the pilots would logically know it possessed no ranged weaponry, this may be a case of TooDumbToLive.

Often overlaps with HellishCopter. Bonus points if we see someone reporting from the helicopter as it gets swatted, making it DeadlineNews as well.

----
!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* In ''Attack of the 50-Ft. Half-Klingon'', the giant B'Elanna Torres is introduced striding across a ZeeRust city "swiping at the gyrocopters that buzzed about her like angry gnats". When a giant Tom Paris appears at the end of the fanfic, he's surrounded by a similar swarm of tilt-rotor gunships.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film -- Animated]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanMaskOfThePhantasm'', Batman does this with small radio-controlled choppers in the old "Gotham of the Future" miniature diorama, which now serves as the Joker's home base.
* Parodied in the opening scene of ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtHeadDoAmerica''.
* In ''WesternAnimation/MonstersVsAliens'', [[GiantWoman Ginormica]] does this by accident, [[NotHelpingYourCase while trying to explain how she's not dangerous at all]].
-->'''Pilot:''' Don't let her get me!\\
'''Ginormica:''' Sorry.
* In ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion: The End of Evangelion'', Asuka drop-kicks a VTOL craft using Unit-02.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
* Near the end of ''Film/{{Cloverfield}}'', the monster takes down a helicopter full of evacuees [[spoiler:the protagonists]].
* Franchise/{{Godzilla}} and his {{Kaiju}} colleagues do this all the time.
** In ''Film/Godzilla1998'', the titular 'zilla does this to a helicopter that's tracking him though the city by sneaking up on it from below.
** Especially notable in ''Film/GodzillaMothraKingGhidorahGiantMonstersAllOutAttack'', in which Godzilla ''throws'' Baragon [[DeadlineNews into a news chopper]]. What a way to die.
* ''Film/KingKong1933'': King Kong swats at attacking aircraft at the climax of the movie. He manages to take down three, but unfortunately, it's not enough to save him.
* ''Film/KongSkullIsland'' continues the tradition with actual helicopters, and uses enough of them that Kong not only swats them, but grabs them to toss at ''other'' helicopters. The largest, he snatches out of the air and twists apart with both hands.
* ''Film/MegaSharkVsGiantOctopus'' uses the standard version when the octopus swats a fighter plane, and takes it [[https://flowingdata.com/2010/02/19/how-a-giant-shark-took-down-an-airplane/ far beyond credibility]] when the shark ''leaps 30,000 feet up to nom an airliner''.
* ''Film/PacificRim'' shows the first {{Kaiju}} doing this to the fighter jets attacking it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* The 50-foot Ginger that climbs up the Tower of Art in ''Literature/MovingPicturesDiscworld'' tries to play out this trope when two wizards start strafing it from a FlyingBroomstick.
* ''Literature/NightShift'': The human protagonist of "Battleground" swats one of the attacking mini-choppers out of the air barehanded (suffering appropriate injuries to his hand), then throws a blanket over the other and stomps on it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* This is actually in ''music''. The intro to ''Arockalypse'' by ''Music/{{Lordi}}'' is a spoken news bulletin about a zombie invasion, including a snippet from a reporter who gets knocked out of the sky by a monster climbing a building.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/TheCreatureThatAteSheboygan'', which simulates an AttackOfThe50FootWhatever, includes rules for having the monster destroy helicopters that fly too close.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* Can be done in ''VideoGame/CrushCrumbleAndChomp'', though it's actually somewhat difficult. The helicopter units are fairly good at keeping their distance from the monster, and good at evading the monster's "grab" attack.
* The ''UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex'' in ''VideoGame/DinoCrisis'' does this to Regina's extraction chopper.
* Your first kaiju form in ''VideoGame/HakaiouKingOfCrusher'' as a NotZilla have you dealing with military helicopters by swatting them out the air. Of course, that's before you grow wings and gain the ability of flight.
* The monsters in ''VideoGame/{{Rampage}}'' can do this to attacking helicopters.
* This is possible by many ways and is greatly recommended in ''VideoGame/WarOfTheMonsters'', as helicopter gunships are, like those in CCAC, [[GoddamnedBats fairly good at evading the player]], while at the same time [[DeathOfAThousandCuts peppering you with their cannons]]. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to beat them, including by [[ImprovisedWeapon throwing items at them]], [[BeamSpam shooting them with your projectile weapon]], [[HerdHittingAttack close-range special attacks]], swatting them, jumping into them, or even grabbing another helicopter and using ITS guns to down the others. They are especially dangerous in the 4th mission, where you not only have to face helicopters, but also a Mecha-Kong and [[BigCreepyCrawlies the mantis Preytor]], who exhibits all the traits of the aforementioned choppers.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'': HellishCopter vs. GiantEnemyCrab: [[http://drmcninja.com/archives/comic/23p84/ 0-1]] As the AltText says: "Helicopters only exist in this comic to get exploded. They serve no other purpose."
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Videos]]
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQte2nz80Is This hamster]] demonstrates why you shouldn't make your Kaiju-battling aircraft out of hamster treats.
* Lampshaded by ''WebVideo/{{Yotobi}}'' during his review of ''Megapython vs Gatoroid'': "Since this is an [[Creator/TheAsylum Asylum movie]], if you're riding a plane or a chopper, chances are something will try to eat you."
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "[[Recap/FuturamaS6E17Benderama Benderama]]", a Giant human boy is destroying the city. Zapp Brannigan shoots at him from a helicopter but then the Giant grabs the helicopter and uses it to give himself a shave.
* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'': In "[[Recap/MiraculousLadybugS01E26StoneheartOriginsPart2 Stoneheart - Origins (Part 2)]]", Stone Heart swats at the pursuing helicopters as he climbs the Eiffel Tower carrying Mylène.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS10E23ThirtyMinutesOverTokyo Thirty Minutes over Tokyo]]", the plane that the Simpsons are on going home gets attacked by Godzilla.
-->'''Pilot:''' Uh, folks, we're experiencing some moderate Godzilla-related turbulence at this time, so I'm going to go ahead and ask you to put your seat belts back on. When we get to 35 thousand feet, he usually does let go, so from there on out, all we have to worry about is Mothra, and, uh, we do have reports he's tied up with Gamera and Rodan at the present time. Thank you very much.
* ''WesternAnimation/TazMania'': In "Taz in Keeweeland", Taz becomes a giant atop a skyscraper, swatting at the Keewee in a biplane.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* The {{Trope Namer|s}} is the now-famous tweet joking about using a flyswatter to get rid of an annoying helicopter that was flying around town in the middle of the night. The town was Abbottabad, Pakistan, and the helicopters were carrying [=Navy SEALS=] on their way to take down UsefulNotes/OsamaBinLaden. One of them did crash during the raid, but so far there have been no reports that giant monsters were involved.
[[/folder]]
----