History Main / HellishCopter

This trope is about helicopters crashing in situations where a helo crash wouldn't necessarily be expected. If a military chopper in a warzone gets hit by a rocket launcher and goes down, that's less of this and more of a RennyHarlinHelicopterExplosion. If a giant monster smacks the 'copter out of the sky, it's a HelicopterFlyswatter. If a military chopper collides with another aircraft or power lines or something due to remarkably bad luck, then it's this trope. If the chopper goes down because DangerTakesABackseat, it's this trope regardless of it being a military chopper in a warzone or not. If it's a police or news chopper getting blown up by a rocket launcher over downtown Los Angeles, it's both this trope and RennyHarlinHelicopterExplosion[[hottip:*: And for the news chopper, DeadlineNews as well]], as you'd never really expect that sort of thing to happen.

Applies to pretty much any helicopter or helicopter-analogue (such as tilt-jet military transports in sci-fi films). See also RennyHarlinHelicopterExplosion. No relation to HellishHorse. Subtrope of AntiAir.

** Actually, it seems to be noteworthy if a POV character climbs aboard a helicopter in the ModernWarfare games and the chopper ''doesn't'' get shot down somehow, though most times it's actually the RennyHarlinHelicopterExplosion at work.

* The helicopter in TheLifeAquatic; it's poor maintenance is something of a ChekhovsGun.

* ''{{Godzilla}} 1985'', Godzilla blasts a helicopter with his breath and send sit plummeting onto a crowded highway, [[EveryCarIsAPinto setting off a massive chain reaction of car explosions]].

* Why has ViewtifulJoe been not mentioned yet? The second mini boss you face in the 1st level is a Black Thunder Helicopter. Upon being killed flies out of control, crashes, and explodes in to large V points (this games currency).

Watch enough action movies, and you soon realize that the only thing more dangerous than being on a helicopter is wearing a [[StarTrek V-neck]] RedShirt or being the [[DeathBySex slutty girl]] in a ''{{Friday the 13th}}'' movie.[[hottip:* :Goodness help you if you're the [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot slutty girl in a v-necked red shirt in a helicopter]].]]

* The helicopter scenes in AlanWake do this to an unbelievable extent; after Alan falls from the helicopter, Breaker starts flying erratically when ''evil birds'' start harassing her. Despite having the clear advantage of being in a metal container with rotating blades and lots of light, [[NOOSHACompliance she gets bumped into so much that she begins to spin wildly out of control]], before [[spoiler: crashing in a fiery blaze. Because of a flock of birds.]]

* Many many Helicopters meat their demise in the GrandTheftAuto series. TheBalladOfGayTony missions "High Dive" and "For the Man Who Has Everything" get a special mention, where multiple LCPD and NOOSE Helicopters are severely damages or destroyed.

* ''{{Alien}}s'' does this in spirit. Corporal Ferro is flying the {{dropship}} to pick up the surviving SpaceMarines to bring them back to the [[CoolShip Sulaco]]. However, [[spoiler:she has a [[DangerTakesABackSeat hitchhiker]], in the form of a Xenomorph which kills the pilot and causes the dropship to nearly crash into the Marines.]]

Applies to pretty much any helicopter or helicopter-analogue (such as tilt-jet military transports in sci-fi films). See also RennyHarlinHelicopterExplosion. No relation to HellishHorse.

[[AC:Comic Books]]
* Averted in ''SinCity''. Many police helicopters are shown but they don't crash.

* Spectacularly averted in the original {{RedDawn}}, when the heroes take a desperate shot at a Soviet chopper with a rocket grenade, hit it . . . and ''nothing happens.''

This trope is about helicopters crashing in situations where a helo crash wouldn't necessarily be expected. If a military chopper in a warzone gets hit by a rocket launcher and goes down, that's less of this and more of a RennyHarlinHelicopterExplosion. If a military chopper collides with another aircraft or power lines or something due to remarkably bad luck, then it's this trope. If the chopper goes down because DangerTakesABackseat, it's this trope regardless of it being a military chopper in a warzone or not. If it's a police or news chopper getting blown up by a rocket launcher over downtown Los Angeles, it's both this trope and RennyHarlinHelicopterExplosion[[hottip:*: And for the news chopper, DeadlineNews as well]], as you'd never really expect that sort of thing to happen.

Applies to pretty much any helicopter or helicopter-analogue (such as tilt-jet military transports in sci-fi films). See also RennyHarlinHelicopterExplosion. If a giant monster smacks the 'copter out of the sky, it's a HelicopterFlyswatter. No relation to HellishHorse.

Applies to pretty much any helicopter or helicopter-analogue (such as tilt-jet military transports in sci-fi films). See also RennyHarlinHelicopterExplosion. No relation to HellishHorse.

* The helicopter in TheLifeAquatic; it's poor maintenance is something of a ChekhovsGun.
* Not a literal example as it hadn't taken off yet, but ''{{Jaws}}'' takes out a helicopter in the second movie by biting one of its floats. The chopper tilts over and the rotor blades hitting the water disintegrate spectacularly.
* ''Jaws'' [[FollowTheLeader rip-off]] ''{{Grizzly}}'' had the titular bruin attack and badly damage the protagonists' helicopter at the end.
* ''DeepBlueSea'' has a rescue helicopter trying to take one of the characters to the hospital get towed into Aquatica's control tower by the giant mako, destroying both and setting off the action.
* ''{{Godzilla}} 1985'', Godzilla blasts a helicopter with his breath and send sit plummeting onto a crowded highway, [[EveryCarIsAPinto setting off a massive chain reaction of car explosions]].
* ''MegaPiranha''. Yeah, let's just say killer animal and giant monster movies really hate helicopters.
* In BattleLosAngeles, the alien invaders are at first thought to be ground troops only with no air support. The heroes' mission is initially to go into the conflict area, find some civilians, then call for a helicopter to airlift them out. The helicopter gets loaded up with their wounded, lifts into the air... [[spoiler: and then it turns out that the aliens had air support after all.]]

--> ''I ran out of bullets. ''

* In ''BatmanUnderTheRedHood'', Batman takes out a helicopter using an EMP-loaded rocket, and then prevents the thing from crashing using cables and with the help of Nightwing and a giant staple gun. ItMakesSenseInContext.

* During the filming for the TwilightZone [[TheMovie movie]], a helicopter crashed during filming, [[HelicopterBlender killing]] [[DownerEnding Vic Morrow and two child actors on the ground]].he

* The SOCOM UH60 heli lost in the operation to kill Bin Laden was destroyed ''on the ground'' when it wasdiscovered to be damaged during landing and could not take off.

* During the filming for the TwilightZone [[TheMovie movie]], a helicopter crashed during filming, [[HelicopterBlender killing]] [[DownerEnding Vic Morrow and two child actors on the ground]].