Line #179 Main/HellishCopter


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5	%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!
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14	[[quoteright:350:[[Film/GreenZone https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/green_zone_helicopter_crash.png]]]]
15	[[caption-width-right:350:Dang it, lost another one!]]
16	->''"Helicopters only exist in this comic to get exploded. They serve no other purpose."''
17	-->-- '''AltText''', ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'', [[http://drmcninja.com/archives/comic/23p84/ "AWOL MD" p. 84]]
18
19	Watch enough action movies, and you soon realize that the only thing more dangerous than being on a helicopter is wearing a [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries V-neck]] RedShirt or being the [[SexSignalsDeath slutty girl]] in a ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' movie. They've been described as 50,000 parts flying in close formation.
20
21	Obviously, helicopters aren't ''quite'' that dangerous in RealLife, or else we wouldn't use them for anything for fear of them haphazardly spinning out of control and crashing into everything all the time. It just wouldn't be a productive way to get around. So why do they get knocked out of the air in seemingly every movie they ever appear in? RuleOfCool. Admit it, it's just ''cool'' to watch one of these things spin out of control trailing smoke, briefly becoming a HelicopterBlender for anybody unfortunate enough to be standing around on the ground in the general area.
22
23	It's particularly unfortunate if that helicopter was our heroes' [[HopeSpot ride home]].
24
25	This trope is about that prevalent tendency of helicopters crashing in various media, as well as in situations where a helicopter 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 ShortLivedAerialEscape--but if half a dozen helicopters get shot down in the same movie, it's probably a textbook case of this trope. 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 ShortLivedAerialEscape[[note]]And for the news chopper, DeadlineNews as well[[/note]], as you'd never really expect that sort of thing to happen. In some cases, expect a StukaScream during the crash, even if it doesn't make sense.
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27	In unusual situations, such as military choppers in a straight-up fight with aliens being taken out in ways that we would consider decidedly unusual (such as the CombatTentacles example in the Film section), just remember that Administrivia/TropesAreFlexible.
28
29	The fuel for this trope comes from many sources, but the most prominent of which is likely RuleOfCool (combined with SpectacularSpinning). Iconic scenes of Blackhawk helicopters getting shot down (an actually [[RealityIsUnrealistic rare event]]) in the [[BasedOnATrueStory famous movie]] ''Film/BlackHawkDown'' are sure to have helped this trope's staying power. It also gives plenty of opportunities for various kinds of drama, badassery, and visceral action, making it as much a tool for creators as a source of entertainment for the audience, if not more so.
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31	Applies to pretty much any helicopter or helicopter-analogue (such as tilt-jet military transports in sci-fi films). See also ShortLivedAerialEscape. No relation to HellishHorse. Subtrope of AntiAir. For the armored vehicle version, see TanksForNothing.
32	----
33	!!Examples:
34
35	[[foldercontrol]]
36
37	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
38	* ''Anime/BubblegumCrisis'': Police helicopters more or less just exist to explode every second episode. [=FastKarateForTheGentleman=] eventually proposed that "I'm going in for a closer look!" is in fact AD Police code for "Tell my family I love them."
39	[[/folder]]
40
41	[[folder:Comic Books]]
42	* ''ComicBook/{{Family}}'': Talia commandeers a police helicopter to crash it on top of the AxCrazy Silver.
43	[[/folder]]
44
45	[[folder:Fan Works]]
46	* Franchise/MonsterVerse fanfiction ''[[Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon Abraxas]]'': Several of Monarch's Osprey tiltrotors are taken down by a monster, [[spoiler:Keizer Ghidorah. It vaporizes one Osprey, and causes another to crash via {{EMP}} blast]].
47	[[/folder]]
48
49	[[folder:Film -- Animated]]
50	* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanAssaultOnArkham'', the Joker and Deadshot end up fighting over a helicopter (which [[ConflictBall would have been perfectly adequate for all the villains if they'd been willing to share]]) while Harley Quinn (who has no idea what she's doing) pilots the thing. Naturally, they end up crashing into the side of a skyscraper. Though the chopper doesn't actually blow up until it (eventually) falls off the building with the Joker still inside and smashes into the street below. (And of course he [[JokerImmunity doesn't die]].)
51	* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanUnderTheRedHood'', Batman takes out a helicopter using an EMP-loaded rocket, and then [[InvertedTrope prevents the thing from crashing]] using cables and with the help of Nightwing and a giant staple gun. ItMakesSenseInContext.
52	* In ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2'', the Screenslaver hacks into the helicopter the Ambassador is travelling in. Elastigirl has to take control of the aircraft, and safely land it since the Ambassador cannot jump and swim in the pond below. Understandably, she faints after touching down.
53	[[/folder]]
54
55	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
56	* ''Film/{{Aliens}}'': 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.]]
57	** A nigh identical scene happens in the DirectToDVD Creator/RogerCorman movie ''[[Film/{{Carnosaur}} Carnosaur 2]]''. [[FollowTheLeader And again in another such film called]] ''[[FollowTheLeader Manticore]]''.
58	* In ''Film/{{Arabesque}}'', Prof. Pollock drops a steel ladder into the rotors of the BigBad's helicopter, sending it crashing into a river.
59	* ''Film/AttackOfTheKillerTomatoes'' has an [[RealLifeWritesThePlot unplanned example]]: A helicopter that was rented for the movie was supposed to land in the background of a scene, except that the tail rotor struck the ground, causing the chopper to spin out and crash. The pilot escaped relatively unharmed, so everybody on the set decided to ThrowItIn, as it was too good a shot to hope for otherwise thanks to the small budget. Thus, a helicopter that ''wasn't'' supposed to crash in a movie ''still'' crashed.
60	-->"A flying tomato? Tomatoes don't fly!"
61	* The final battle in ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' wouldn't count (military choppers being taken down in combat) except for what they were being taken down by: what one would essentially consider [[CallARabbitASmeerp dragons]] swarming and attacking them. Particularly for the gunship that gets grabbed by a dragon and flung into another gunship, one of the gunners seeing the other gunship flying at them just in time to scream horribly.
62	** Played very straight in ''Film/AvatarTheWayOfWater'' - outside of brief shots of whale hunting no gunship manages to last more than a few seconds in battle before getting shot down.
63	* In the post-credits scene of ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', a helicopter is seen spinning out of control and careening into a building [[spoiler:because Thanos' BadassFingersnap has killed its pilot]].
64	* Tom Newcliffe's helicopter comes to a bad, bad end in ''Film/TheBeastMustDie''.
65	* Pretty much every chopper in ''Film/BrokenArrow1996'' either crashes or gets blown up (or both).
66	* ''Film/CliffHanger'': Stallone's character takes down a chopper by throwing a bag of money into the rotors.
67	* ''Film/{{Cloverfield}}'': Towards the very end of the movie [[spoiler:the main characters are escaping in a helicopter which is knocked out of the air by the monster. [[HopeSpot They survive the crash]], only to die either from being killed by the monster, or in the ensuing [[DeathFromAbove military air strike]]. Makes for a real [[{{Pun}} Downer]] [[DownerEnding Ending]].]]
68	* ''Film/DantesPeak'': Towards the end of the film, the helicopter pilot (along with many passengers paying him to take them away from the volcano) attempts to take off despite the huge amount of volcanic ash in the air. [[spoiler: [[CassandraTruth Just as he was warned]], the volcanic ash was ingested into the helicopter's engines and choked them up, causing the chopper to crash back to the ground. [[TooDumbToLive As a trained pilot, he should have known better.]]]]
69	* ''Film/TheDarkKnight'': A police chopper gets ''clotheslined'' by some of The Joker's goons via some harpoon guns and some high-rises it was flying between. The helicopter gets tangled up, hits a building, and then crashes to the street below.
70	** Some fun trivia: In RealLife, many helicopters are equipped with blade attachments on the top and bottom of the fuselage, designed to try and catch cables and cut them before they can actually snag on the skids or rotor hub.
71	** Also, when's the last time you saw a real helicopter trying to fly between tall buildings? Reason for that too.
72	* ''Film/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.
73	* ''Film/Derailed2002'': When Cole tries to escape from the train by being picked up by a helicopter, Jacques clips the ladder from the helicopter to the roof of the train. Unable to disengage, the helicopter is dragged into the side of a mountain as the train passes through a tunnel; exploding in a fireball.
74	* Happens numerous times in the ''Film/DieHard'' movies, with various helicopters meeting their ends due to bomb explosions, rocket launchers, power lines, and ''[[CarFu police cars]]''.
75	-->'''John [=McLane=]:''' I ran out of bullets.
76	* Before ''Film/DieHardWithAVengeance'', the Creator/ClintEastwood thriller ''Film/TheGauntlet'' has a mob sniper's helicopter explode quite spectacularly after its rotor blades become tangled in some power lines.
77	* Happens ''many'' times in ''Film/DWar'' due to the helicopters belonging to the RedshirtArmy, though their exploding is mostly due to the pilots' incompetence rather than outside forces.
78	* ''Film/EdgeOfTomorrow''. Rita and Cage find a helicopter with fuel, but can't find the keys. Eventually Rita realises that Cage has the keys in his pocket, but is stalling because, thanks to the GroundhogDayLoop, he knows that [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption Rita always dies when they take off in the helicopter]]. She forces the keys off him and takes off in the helicopter herself, only to die when a nearby alien attacks it. Being forced to watch this causes the hero to undergo a HeroicBSOD.
79	* ''Film/FireBirds'' has this happen to Preston (in a flight simulator) colliding with a set of powerlines after he becomes disoriented due to his inability to adapt to the Apache's monocle display.
80	* ''Film/TheFlash2023''. General Zod [[GrievousHarmWithABody hurls Supergirl into]] a US Army Blackhawk, slicing the tail off. Supergirl lowers it safely to the ground, only for the helicopter to explode as Zod smashes down on top of it, [[AllForNothing to Supergirl's fury]].
81	* ''Jaws'' [[FollowTheLeader rip-off]] ''Film/{{Grizzly}}'' had the titular bruin attack and badly damage the protagonists' helicopter at the end.
82	* ''Film/IAmLegend'': A series of flashbacks show Neville making sure his family gets to the evacuation point so they can be airlifted out of the city. They board a helicopter which safely takes off and begins to fly across the river when another chopper begins spinning wildly out of control due to being overloaded and imbalanced with the vampire-like darkseekers who tried to grab onto the skid as it took off. [[spoiler:There is a quick cut out of the flashback just before we can see the two choppers collide.]]
83	** The same thing happens in ''Film/WorldWarZ'' [[EverythingsDeaderWithZombies only with zombies]].
84	* ''Film/IfLooksCouldKill'' has a [[SpecialEffectsFailure particularly silly]] helicopter crash where the rotor section detaches and comes after the heroes like a gigantic buzzsaw.
85	* Helicopters are taken down twice in the Edward Norton-starring ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk2008'', first when the Hulk throws a piece of debris at a military helicopter during the campus fight, and later when the Abomination brings down the helicopter carrying [[spoiler: Betty and General Thunderbolt Ross]].
86	* Film/JamesBond is attacked by helicopters in several movies. Needless to say, they will (almost) always go down.
87	** In ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove'', Bond is chased by two SPECTRE henchmen in a helicopter after getting out of the Orient Express in the middle of the Balkans. They throw grenades at him, until he manages to use his SniperRifle to shoot the arm of the one dropping the grenades just as he unpinned one. [[HoistByHisOwnPetard It goes boom inside]].
88	** In ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice'', Bond is attacked by several SPECTRE helicopters while piloting the Little Nellie autogyro to do recon over Japanese volcanos where the BigBad's base is. He uses the autogyro's awesome arsenal (flamethrower, aerial mines, rockets, homing missiles) to take them all down.
89	** During the FinalBattle of ''Film/DiamondsAreForever'', Felix Leiter leads an assault of US Coast Guard helicopters armed with rockets on {{B\|ig Bad}}lofeld's oil rig lair. One of them gets destroyed by an AntiAir battery.
90	** In ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'', Professor Markovitz and Dr. Bechmann leave Karl Stromberg's Atlantis base in a helicopter, which unbeknownst to them had a bomb onboard, which Stromberg blows up with a button push. Later Bond and Anya Amasova are chased and shot at by Karl Stromberg's [[MsFanservice gorgeous assistant]] Naomi in a helicopter. Bond drives his Lotus Esprit into the sea, activates its submarine mode and disposes of Naomi with an AntiAir missile.
91	** In the ActionPrologue of ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'', Bond is LuredIntoATrap in a [[MurderByRemoteControlVehicle remote-controlled]] helicopter by a wheelchair-bound villain who's [[LawyerFriendlyCameo Blofeld in anything but name]]. The helicopter almost crashes on several occasions but Bond manages to gain control of it and turns it against the villain.
92	** In the ActionPrologue of ''Film/AViewToAKill'' it's a Soviet military helicopter armed with gatling-type cannon. Bond launches a flare into the cockpit causing it to fill with smoke; the blinded pilot then crashes it into an iceberg.
93	** The Eurocopter Tiger in ''Film/GoldenEye''. Bond and Natalya Simonova are tied up in the cockpit with the missiles programmed to launch and then turn back and destroy the helicopter on the ground. Bond manages to save himself and Natalya by pushing the EjectionSeat button with his head just before the missiles hit.
94	** In ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'', there's an extensive chase in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, with Bond and Wai Lin (who are handcuffed) driving a BMW chopper motorbike and being pursued by Elliott carver's men in a helicopter (so it's a [[{{Pun}} chopper going after a chopper]]). They get rid of it by using a street clothesline to entangle its tail rotor and have it crash into nearby buildings.
95	** In ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough'', helicopter-mounted circular saws, first seen trimming trees to make way for the King pipeline, are utilized in the attack on Zukovsky's caviar factory, and one of them saws Bond's BMW [=Z8=] in half. Before that, Bond takes one heli down with a surface-to-air missile and the other by shooting a gas tank it hovers above.
96	** In ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'', [[BigBad Raoul Silva]] attacks Bond's ancestral home in Skyfall with a machine gun-fitted helicopter ''Film/ApocalypseNow''-[=style=], [[LoudOfWar blaring out some rock]]. Bond then blows up the mansion (he's always hated it anyway) with gas tanks and the helicopter gets engulfed in the explosion and crashes in the mansion.
97	** In ''Film/{{Spectre}}'', the pre-credits sequence involves Bond trying to kill a man in an out of control helicopter hurtling over the skies of Mexico City. The copter even does several barrel rolls. In the film's climax, Bond manages to plink a twin-engine helicopter a few times with a small handgun, which causes both engines to burst into flames, sending it crashing down.
98	** Averted in ''Film/NoTimeToDie''. The entire pursuing force (motorbikes and [=SUVs=]) that goes after Bond and Madeleine in Norway gets demolished by Bond except the helicopter with the BigBad in it, who then proceeds to kidnap Madeleine.
99	* Not a literal example as it hadn't taken off yet, but in ''Film/{{Jaws 2}}'' the shark takes out a helicopter by biting one of its floats. The chopper tilts over and the rotor blades hitting the water disintegrate spectacularly.
100	* Subject of a brief gag in the Cuban ZombieApocalypse film ''Film/JuanOfTheDead'': The heroes see a helicopter flying in, [[TemptingFate one of them voices out loud his hopes that it will rescue them]], and the chopper immediately plows into the side of a building.
101	* ''Film/JurassicWorld'': An attempt is made to kill the ''Indominus rex'' using a helicopter with a door-mounted minigun. [[spoiler:''Indominus'' breaks open the aviary, letting hundreds of ''Pteranodons'' and other flying reptiles loose. They swarm the copter, causing it to fly out of control and veer into the aviary dome, smashing through the glass and crashing and exploding quite impressively.]]
102	* The helicopter in ''Film/TheLifeAquaticWithSteveZissou''; its poor maintenance is something of a ChekhovsGun.
103	* ''Film/MacheteKills''. Machete is flying to safety when his helicopter is damaged by mooks in a powerboat. He leaps into the boat then, as the unmanned chopper spins wildly out of control overhead, fires a harpoon into it, attaching the other end to a mook who's pulled into the air and the rotor blades -- the mook gets [[CruelAndUnusualDeath shredded, then blown up with the helicopter]].
104	* ''Film/TheMatrix'': Shortly after their GunshipRescue moment at the office building, the chopper that Trinity appropriated takes too much damage and ends up crashing into a building.
105	* Zigzagged in ''Film/TheMeg''. GenreSavvy viewers expect this to happen to the Coast Guard helicopter and then Morris' meg-hunting team, but they survive intact. Then in the climax of the film several Chinese news helicopters get too wrapped up in what's happening below and have a mid-air collision. One of the helicopters crashes onto the deck of the ship and explodes, forcing most of the cast into the water.
106	* ''Film/MegaPiranha''. Yeah, let's just say killer animal and giant monster movies really hate helicopters.
107	* ''Film/TheOtherGuys'': A helicopter gets taken out by a volley of ''[[LethalJokeCharacter golf balls]]''.
108	* At the end of the first act of ''Film/PoliceStory 4: First Strike'', Jackie grabs onto a helicopter, only for it to get blown up by an RPG.
109	* Averted in ''Film/RedDawn1984''. Despite the film being notorious for its carnage, none of the helicopters seen are ever shot down. This includes a Soviet Hind hit by a Wolverine RPG - a gunner falls out, but aside from smoke temporarily pouring out of the cabin, [[NoSell the helicopter sustains no major damage.]]
110	* ''Film/TheReturnOfGodzilla'': Godzilla blasts a helicopter with his breath and sends it plummeting onto a crowded highway, [[EveryCarIsAPinto setting off a massive chain reaction of car explosions]].
111	* In ''Film/Rogue2020'', the mercenaries are expecting to be extracted by helicopter gunship after they rescue the governor's daughter. The helicopter arrives but Zalaam shoots it down, forcing Sam and her men to keep running and attempt to improvise a new extraction route.
112	* In ''Film/{{Sheena}}'' the bad guys' helicopter gunship falls prey to a flock of telepathically-controlled flamingos.
113	* ''Film/{{Skyline}}'': A Blackhawk helicopter is taken down by a tanker alien using CombatTentacles.
114	* ''Film/SuicideSquad2016'': First, there's the helicopter the titular squad enters the city in, which gets shot down and barrel-rolls spectacularly across the ground. Then, once they've retrieved [[spoiler:Amanda Waller]], the evacuation helicopter is hijacked by the Joker and eventually gets shot down by the military, crashing into a building and exploding. A second evacuation helicopter arrives shortly after, picks up [[spoiler:Waller]]... and is yet again shot down, this time within seconds of taking off. [[spoiler:None of these crashes are fatal.]]
115	* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':
116	** In ''Film/SupermanTheMovie'', we see a helicopter for the sole reason of having it get into an accident and cause Lois Lane to fall off a building. That leads to a great line in the movie, though:
117	--->'''Superman:''' Easy, miss. I've got you.\
118	'''Lois Lane:''' You -- ''you've'' got ''me?'' ''Who's got you?''
119	** ''Film/SupermanII'': During the army's battle with the three Kryptonian supervillains, Ursa blows a helicopter away with her super breath, causing it to crash.
120	* In ''Film/TheToweringInferno'', a helicopter is attempting to evacuate people from the roof of the burning skyscraper. When two women run after it as it's attempting to land, the pilot swerves to avoid them, causing the craft to lose control in the updraft from the building, slam into the roof and explode.
121	* ''Film/UnderworldEvolution'' has Alexander Corvinus' men's helicopter crash into the area where the final battle is taking place. Towards the end the rotors start spinning again and Selene is able to force Marcus back into the rotors, making him go LudicrousGibs. This is a case of HoistByHisOwnPetard, as he was the one who pulled the helicopter down by the line that Michael used to drop into the building. Obviously, some RequiredSecondaryPowers had to be in play here for Marcus not to be lifted up by the helicopter when he pulled.
122	[[/folder]]
123
124	[[folder:Jokes]]
125	* A joke in aviation circles goes "If the wings are traveling faster than the fuselage, it's probably a helicopter and therefore, unsafe."
126	[[/folder]]
127
128	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
129	* Played with in the premier to ''Series/{{Airwolf}}''; Santini Air is providing the helicopters and pilot work for the set of an action movie. The star of the movie has an ''insanely'' inflated opinion of his own ability to pilot an aircraft and insists, because he anonymously leaked to a popular reporter that it would happen, that he be allowed to do his own stunt-flying. What follows is a hilarious sequence of near-crashes until Hawke, required to be in the helicopter "for insurance purposes," takes the controls at the last second.
130	-->'''Reporter:''' ''[as the helicopter spins wildly but otherwise holds in place]'' What's that stunt called?\
131	'''Santini:''' Well, it...it doesn't really have a ''name,'' generally you don't see that unless you've lost your tail rotor...
132	* Don't get into an air ambulance in ''Series/{{Casualty}}'' (if you are given the choice). In real life they are common enough that people get to know where they are likely to land, but they've shown up twice in this show... and crashed both times, spectacularly in the last case.
133	* ''Series/{{ER}}'': At the helipad on the hospital roof, [[spoiler:Dr. Romano]] comes a little too close to the tail rotor and loses an arm. For months after that, he avoids the things by hiding out in the ambulance bay when they land, but in the season finale [[spoiler: [[{{Irony}} the same helicopter]] loses control, falls off the roof, and crushes him to death.]]
134	* Subverted on ''Series/{{Lost}}''; the second episode of season 4 follows the survivors trying to locate the team of rescuers sent by helicopter to the Island after the helicopter hit turbulence and the passengers parachuted down. They finally track down the pilot and ask him where the helicopter crashed. He replies, "Crashed? What kind of pilot do you think I am? I landed it in that clearing." [[spoiler:It does crash later, but only because it ran out of fuel due to a leak]].
135	* ''Series/MidnightSun2016'': One is used for an execution, no less. The first victim is tied onto a helicopter's blade and killed when it starts up.
136	[[/folder]]
137
138	[[folder:Multiple Media]]
139	* Franchise/MonsterVerse:
140	** ''Film/KongSkullIsland'': The battalion of U.S. military helicopters sent to Skull Island get completely eradicated by Kong in a matter of minutes.
141	** ''[[Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019 Godzilla: King of the Monsters]]'': Being the most apocalyptic and high-stake instalment in the [=MonsterVerse=] to date, with [[BigBad King Ghidorah]] forcing Titans to attack worldwide and Godzilla, Mothra and humans needing to work together to defeat him; it comes as no surprise that a ''lot'' of rotor aircraft fall like flies in this film.
142	** ''WesternAnimation/SkullIsland2023'': The only helicopter seen in the series (a rescue copter sent to pick up the mercenaries) gets torn apart by the BigBad kraken with zero problem on the kraken's end.
143	[[/folder]]
144
145	[[folder:Pinball]]
146	* Occurs in ''Pinball/TheGetawayHighSpeed2'' if the player goes into the tunnel after getting the multiball jackpot; a police helicopter will try to follow you and crash, awarding the Helicopter Bonus.
147	-->'''Car 504:''' Where'd he go?\
148	'''Pilot:''' He went in the tunnel--\
149	'''Car 504:''' HEY! LOOK OUT!!\
150	''CRASH!''
151	* The beginning of each ball in ''Pinball/LastActionHero'' features a helicopter firing on a skyscraper; making the SkillShot will cause Jack Slater to shoot it and make it explode.
152	[[/folder]]
153
154	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
155	* ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'': Under the original rules, [=VTOLs=] were horrifically fragile units that tended to die horribly the first time they got shot. Under the current rules, they're still horrifically fragile units but they tend to die after being shot two or three times. Among [=VTOLs=], the Yellowjacket has a particularly bad reputation for being prone to being shot down due to being a misguided attempt to make a helicopter that's a MightyGlacier. Which it is compared to other helicopters, but it's still only 30 tons and moves about as fast as many mechs close to twice its size.
156	[[/folder]]
157
158	[[folder:Video Games]]
159	* In ''VideoGame/AlanWake'', helicopters get downed twice by birds being controlled by [[EldritchAbomination the Dark Presence]], rendering them invulnerable to conventional weapons and enabling them to do horrendous damage.
160	* ''VideoGame/{{Arma}}'' has the option to damage vehicles and even destroy them, including helicopters. This includes multiplayer, where a mission can go ''completely'' pear-shaped if your helicopter eats a rocket-propelled grende. Creator/ShackTactical features [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZuvRiyIh6c one infamous mission]] where [[ThatOnepLayer Dslyecxi]] single-handedly ruins OPFOR Team's day by shooting down their sole evacuation vehicle, using ''OPFOR's own anti-aircraft gun''.
161	* In ''VideoGame/{{Broforce}}'', you get picked up by helicopter at the end of every level. Certain bros (ones with special attacks that shoot up or do a lot of {{splash damage}}) can actually shoot it down, at which point an identical chopper will show up a few seconds later.
162	* If a player character in the ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' series ever boards a helicopter, their flight is very likely to end up short-lived.
163	** ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty4ModernWarfare'':
164	*** At the beginning of the mission "Hunted", the chopper extracting Captain Price's squad after they secured Nikolai gets shot down over enemy territory, forcing them to continue their exfiltration on foot.
165	*** [[spoiler: Sergeant Jackson's helicopter, and several others, crashes due to being caught in the pressure wave of a nuclear explosion. Sergeant Jackson barely survives the crash, and lives just long enough to see the results of the nuke before [[DownerEnding succumbing to his injures]].]]
166	*** In the mission "One Shot, One Kill", Price and Capt. [=McMillan=] snipe an enemy chopper, only for it to kamikaze towards them and cripple [=McMillan=].
167	** Taken to SerialEscalation levels in ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2'', where TheSquad survives a conventional helicopter shoot-down, only to find themselves fleeing for safety after [[spoiler: an EMP blast causes ''the rest'' of the choppers to ''rain from the sky''.]]
168	** Subverted in the "Black Tuesday" level in ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare3'', where the player character's helicopter take a massive hit and almost crashes into a New York high-rise, but manages to level out and fly away to safety, though played straight with the Russian Hind the player's helicopter was fighting; after getting shot out of the sky by the player, the Hind spins into the player's helicopter (the aforementioned massive hit), before slamming into said high-rise.
169	** ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps'':
170	*** During Mason and Reznov's escape from Vorkuta, a helicopter gets ''harpooned'', with the harpoon's cable secured to the side of a building. When the helicopter tries to pull away, it ends up whipping itself around into another building.
171	*** Two more helicopters that Mason rides in during his time in Vietnam get knocked out of the sky, with one of them nearly sinking into a lake with him still inside.
172	*** The chopper that Mason pilots during the assault on the Rusalka in the final mission suffers the same fate, with Mason having to jump out and onto the deck below after it takes too much damage to stay airborne.
173	** ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2019'': Plenty of helicopters are shot down throughout the course of the campaign, many times with the player still on board, and Spec Ops begin with your chopper being beaned by an RPG and spiraling out of control.
174	* ''VideoGame/ChaosHeat'' have your team radio in an evac chopper right in the first level to provide you a lift, only for a bunch of infected monsters suddenly appearing forcing you to take an alternate path. You fought your way to a helipad outside, just in time to see that chopper of yours ambushed by other monsters and crashing.
175	* In the classic ''VideoGame/{{Choplifter}},'' the player's chopper crashes if it gets shot once, or even grazes the ground.
176	* [=VTOLs=] got shot down so much in ''{{VideoGame/Crysis}}'' that the ''Warhead'' expansion had a marine {{Lampshading}} it.
177	* In ''VideoGame/DoubleDragonNeon'', after defeating the Giant Tank, the Killacopter inexplicably explodes and crashes into the tank, completely destroying it.
178	* ''VideoGame/EmpireEarthII'': Helicopters are extremely fragile and tend to go down in a single hit from dedicated AntiAir and not much slower against heavy infantry (who use machine guns and assault rifles). However, it reaches RockBeatsLaser extremes in a prehistoric/future matchup, where the heavy infantry of the era (using maces, swords, and spears) are ''still'' able to attack a chopper's shadow and bring it down, while light infantry (archers, who later evolve into mortars) are unable to target them.
179	* In ''VideoGame/Fallout4'', Brotherhood of Steel Vertibirds seem to exist in only three states: crashed, in the process of crashing (which happens instantly if you [[SnipingTheCockpit snipe the pilot]]), and about to start crashing. For added "fun", when crashing they'll automatically home in on you regardless of how you move.
180	* Whenever a helicopter appears in any of the ''[[VideoGame/FirstEncounterAssaultRecon F.E.A.R.]]'' games, it is almost certain to go down. It gets especially brutal by the third game in the series, where Alma's [[PersonOfMassDestruction "contractions"]] are accompanied by massive red pulses of energy that swat helicopters out of sky, rip apart the earth, and knock over buildings. The only point in the entire series where a helicopter didn't get shot down or otherwise savaged by enemy fire was the intro to the first game's second level, and the ending to the ''Perseus Mandate'' expansion.
181	* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'', during the Shinra assault on the Sector 7 pillar, no fewer than ''three'' helicopters happen to crash in the slums and explode, blocking Aerith's path to the Seventh Heaven bar. Much later in the game, the Avalanche helicopter sent to rescue Cloud and company from the Shinra HQ gets suddenly shot down by Rufus's helicopter.
182	* Many, many helicopters meet their demise in the ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' series.
183	** In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII'', [[spoiler:Catalina]] meets her end when Claude shoots down her helicopter in the final mission.
184	** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' has one mission where CJ attempts to take out some rival criminals from a helicopter, only for it to be almost immediately blown up by a rocket launcher and crash in the ocean. CJ gets out okay, but the pilot isn't as lucky.
185	** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'':
186	*** In the mission "Paper Trail", Niko and Little Jacob commandeer a a helicopter to pursue a target in another helicopter until they're far out enough in the ocean, at which point the latter uses a rocket launcher to shoot it down.
187	*** Downplayed in both possible final missions, where the helicopter(s) involved end up heavily damaged and inoperable but not destroyed.
188	** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIVTheBalladOfGayTony'' missions "High Dive" and "For the Man Who Has Everything" get a special mention, where multiple LCPD and NOOSE Helicopters are severely damaged or destroyed.
189	** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'' has, among others, the rooftop approach for the Bureau Raid, in which the helicopter meant to extract the protagonists and their crew is shot down by another chopper, and the loud approach to the Big Score, where multiple Merryweather attack choppers are blown out of the sky.
190	* UNSC Pelicans in ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' time and time again get shot down by the Covenant, usually killing everyone inside (except you).
191	** ''VideoGame/HaloReach'' has a more literal example in the level ''Tip of The Spear''. Towards the end, after taking out the second anti-air gun, a Falcon helicopter carries you and Jorge-052 to the [[MacGuffin Covenant spire]]. Upon passing through the [[DeflectorShields domed energy shield]] that protects the spire, the aircraft loses power and crashes, with Jorge and the player being the only survivors. The crash is viewed in first person.
192	* ''VideoGame/HeavyWeapon'' has the white non-combat support helicopters that dropped {{powerup}}s for you. While these were immune to enemies, '''[[WhatTheHellHero you]]''' could accidentally shoot them down via friendly fire, and if you did, you'd be docked a lot of points from your score. Trying not to shoot them is easier said than done, as they may appear during the worst possible moments when several DemonicSpiders are on the screen.
193	* ''VideoGame/JustCause'': You can literally daisy-chain helicopter hijackings with your GrapplingHookPistol, or shoot them down with assault rifles and revolvers, plus the game [[CaptainCrash doesn't really encourage landing the aircraft you use]] -- so if you as much as spot a helicopter, chances are it's going down through your effort.
194	* ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'':
195	** At the end of the first campaign, "No Mercy", the survivors get on a helicopter to escape a hospital rooftop. All seems fine, until the pilot turns into a zombie, forcing Zoey to shoot him, whereupon it crash lands in the industrial county seen in "Crash Course".
196	** The exact same thing happens in [[VideoGame/Left4Dead2 the sequel]] at the end of "Dark Carnival": the helicopter pilot turns mid-flight, Nick shoots him dead, and the unmanned helicopter crashes at the entrance to the marshland where "Swamp Fever" takes place.
197	** The tie-in comic for "The Sacrifice" shows a Tank laying waste to a military helicopter by grabbing it by the tail and throwing it.
198	* ''VideoGame/LollipopChainsaw'' features a rescue chopper in the first level, airlifting various classmates that Juliet saves from the Zombies. A pair of zombies climb up the rescue line and get inside the chopper, causing it to crash. MoodWhiplash occurs as [[TheDitz Juliet]] gives out a particularly ditzy example of AndThatsTerrible in response.
199	* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidV'':
200	** At the end of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVGroundZeroes'', Snake's extraction helicopter Morpho ends up getting destroyed when an explosion [[spoiler:from a bomb planted inside of Paz]] sends it spinning out of control, causing it to crash into a pursuing XOF chopper.
201	** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'' has two doomed helicopters in the prologue; one gets destroyed by the Man on Fire, while another gets eaten by [[MindScrew the apparition of a flaming whale]]. Later on, Snake's extraction helicopter, now codenamed Peqoud, is brought down during "Metallic Archaea" by the titular organisms.
202	** In both titles, you can end up invoking this during gameplay by calling your extraction helicopter to hover over enemy territory, which guarantees it'll get shot down by rockets or anti-aircraft fire unless (if you're playing ''The Phantom Pain'') you've invested in upgrades to the helicopter's armor or weaponry.
203	* ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}''
204	** The game either has Alex shooting things at the helicopter to take it down (which includes [[GrievousHarmWithABody people]]), or him ''flying'' to the chopper, ripping it up to remove the pilot (if not invading and [[IAmAHumanitarian devouring him]]), and hijacking the thing. [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential Crashing it later is optional]]. Alternately, you can just [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/6/19/ jumpkick the chopper out of the air.]]
205	** It's worth noting that helicopters are [[GameBreaker game breakers]] when the player is in one, and you can fly around destroying military bases and hives almost unchallenged in one. Apparently the military could easily kill Alex and wipe out the infected if only their pilots could learn to fly more than thirty feet above the ground.
206	* In the opening of ''VideoGame/QuakeIV'', the player's dropship is shot down. Then after his Stroggification, the dropship sent to medevac him gets shot down as well.
207	* ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' is quite infamous for this, as any helicopter you see before you shoot the FinalBoss in the face with a rocket launcher is going to go the way of the dinosaurs. Any you see after that though is perfectly safe. To wit:
208	** The helicopter carrying Bravo Team in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil1'', [[VideoGame/ResidentEvilRemake it's remake]], and the prequel ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilZero'' goes down with a sudden mechanical failure, though it manages to land without crashing. [[WelcomeToHell Notice that "safely" was not used.]]
209	** In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'' a helicopter trying to rescue an officer from a rooftop ends up being shot down by that same officer when he's swarmed by zombies, and his out of control firing strikes the pilot.
210	** When the same scene comes up in ''VideoGame/Residentevil2Remake'', it's changed, leaving it ambiguous as to why it crashed, though the appearance of zombies on fire implies that the pilot was attacked by a passenger that changed midflight.
211	** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis'' uses this as a cruel HopeSpot prior to the first mandatory battle against Nemesis. The titular creature demonstrates his terrifying intelligence by shooting the helicopter down with a rocket launcher, prior to attacking Jill in the courtyard. Jill can also invoke this against Nicholai by shooting down the helicopter he is in should certain choices be made.
212	** In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Remake'', the helicopter gets brought down much earlier in the story (before Jill has even reached downtown), via the Nemesis throwing... something into the copter's tail rotor.
213	** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' does this not once, but ''twice''! The first helicopter is shot down off-screen, stranding Leon and Ashley for the foreseeable future. Later in the game, TheCavalry arrives to provide aerial support through the next section of the game. Leon (and the player) have just long enough to become attached to Mike the helicopter pilot, when he's blown up with a rocket launcher by Saddler's goons.
214	** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6'' continues the terrible luck with helicopters. Jake and Sherry are attacked while leaving the combat zone via helicopter, forcing them into a brutal fight that ends with them bailing out over the mountains. And a helicopter is one of ''many'' modes of transportation that Leon [[CaptainCrash crashes]] over the course of his campaign.
215	* ''VideoGame/SaintsRow'' isn't especially kind to its helicopters. If it's on the enemy's side, odds are it's gonna go boom. Especially if the pilot is killed, where upon it lights on fire and goes up in a big fireball upon hitting a surface, killing everyone inside. Heck, one of the first missions of [[VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird the third game]] has helicopters shot down en masse by you and and a fellow gang lieutenant.
216	* ''[[VideoGame/SimCity SimCopter]]'' is all about this. Stock up on a LOT of choppers, because you'll burn your way through nearly all of them. A quick and dirty way to lose the game is to use the "[[UsefulNotes/NuclearWeapons RADIOACTIVITY]]" cheat. [[VideogameCrueltyPotential Fun stuff]].
217	* This is actually [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in LetsPlay/Helloween4545's LetsPlay of ''VideoGame/{{Singularity}}''. After his helicopter is brought down by an EMP, he hypothesizes that a helicopter in a video game has an 80% chance of going down and characters on it dying.
218	* ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'' begins InMediasRes with Walker and his squad pursued by a group of enemy choppers, which Walker shoots down one after another with a mounted minigun. One of them ends up colliding with Walker's helicopter, causing it to crash.
219	* ''VideoGame/{{Spyborgs}}'' has your MissionControl, Vox, radioing in a Chinook transport to pick you up in the helipad. You fight through legions of enemy mechs to reach the helipad, where the Chinook is waiting... only for the stage's boss, a KillerRobot, to suddenly clumb up and destroy said Chinook in a cutscene three seconds later.
220	* Happens twice in ''VideoGame/SyphonFilter: The Omega Strain''. First, while on the way to Belaya Vezha, you are forced to bail from the insertion chopper and recover your gear from the crash site. Then during the Lorelei Salvage Rig mission, Crusher's chopper is shot down by Meta Global gunships and crashes into the rig, destroying the upper deck and [[SinkingShipScenario causing the structure to take on water]].
221	* ''VideoGame/ThunderWolves'' is all about helicopters, so naturally this trope comes into play. You get shot down several times over the course of the campaign. Twice, you have to steer your spiraling chopper towards a specific area. You are able to use the wreck's guns and even ''rockets'' to defend the wreck.
222	* In ''VideoGame/TimeCrisis 2'', after defeating the second boss, his helicopter crashes and [[TrackTrouble destroys a railroad bridge]] in front of the train the heroes are on.
223	* ''VideoGame/ViewtifulJoe''. 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 game's currency).
224	* At the beginning of ''VideoGame/{{Winback}}: Covert Operations'', the SCAT team's insertion chopper loses control and explodes. Later revealed to be deliberate sabotage by [[TheMole your traitorous C.O.]] Dan, who was [[NoOneCouldSurviveThat apparently still inside the chopper when it exploded]].
225	* ''VideoGame/ZombiesRun'' starts with your helicopter being shot down. There is another helicopter crash early in season 3 too, but that's due to mechanical failure.
226	[[/folder]]
227
228	[[folder:Webcomics]]
229	* The AltText for [[http://drmcninja.com/archives/comic/23p84/ this]] ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'' comic lampshades the prevalence of this trope, especially in this comic with "Helicopters only exist in this comic to get exploded. They serve no other purpose."
230	* ''Webcomic/{{Concerned}}'': Gordon Frohman takes down a Combine Gunship ''on accident'' by trying to dispose of a body by throwing it off a bridge. The body gets caught in the rotor blades of the gunship, which causes a [[CrossesTheLineTwice hilarious]] case of DisasterDominoes. Which is even funnier, because Frohman ''likes'' the Combine and wants to join them, being a sort of TooDumbToLive VillainProtagonist.
231	[[/folder]]
232
233	[[folder:Web Original]]
234	* ''WebVideo/HalfLifeButTheAIIsSelfAware'': Gordon and the science team eventually come across the MechanicalAbomination that is the Helicopter Heap, created by a freak map glitch and consisting of multiple helicopters blended together into something that can somehow fly. Oh, and each helicopter ''Plays its sound individually,'' to the point that the youtube highlights include an [[HellIsThatNoise onscreen warning]] before we get to hear it.
235	-->'''Bubby:''' I hear [God usually does have a plan.] I don't think regenerating helicopters was in it.
236	* In Episode 539 of ''WebVideo/StampysLovelyWorld'', "Helicopter", Stampy builds a personal civilian helicopter. Two episodes later, he crashes it [[spoiler:because he is shot down with an AntiAir cannon built by his ArchEnemy, and is subsequently captured.]]
237	[[/folder]]
238
239	[[folder:Western Animation]]
240	* The episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'' which introduces Green Lantern features a helicopter crash, and Green Lantern using his ring to stop a severed rotor blade from causing any fatal damage.
241	* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'':
242	** PlayedForLaughs: [[KentBrockmanNews Channel 5 News]]' [[DrunkDriver Drunk Billy]] is exactly as good of a helicopter pilot as you'd expect.
243	--->'''Diane Simmons:''' We now to go live to Drunk Billy, in the Channel 5 News copter.\
244	''[clip of a helicopter crashing into highway overpass and exploding]''\
245	'''Tom Tucker:''' This just in, Channel 5 News copter pilot passed away today. In a anticipation of this event, we've put together a clip package featuring some of Billy's work for Channel 5 News.\
246	''[montage of a helicopter crashing into buildings, maiming pedestrians, and generally causing mayhem]''\
247	'''Diane Simmons:''' Drunk Billy will be missed.
248	** In another episode, Peter is revealed to have his own helicopter, but he appears not to be able to fly it. As soon as he tries to start it up, it goes sideways, and the blades tear up Joe's front yard.
249	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': A traffic reporter reports on his own helicopter crashing.
250	-->'''Jim:''' I have just been informed that my last words were... "back to you, Linda". ''[BOOM!]''\
251	'''Morbo''': '''I HATED JIM!''' In other news...
252	* Seen in the ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'' episode "The Horrible Herd" where a helicopter blows up, probably because the producers [[StuffBlowingUp seem to love explosions]].
253	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Helicopter traffic reporter Arnie Pye has crashed at least twice; both times he [[UnexplainedRecovery came back uninjured]], even though the first time it was implied he died. "Tell my wife I love..."
254	* ''WesternAnimation/SwatKats'' frequently had Enforcer choppers getting torn apart, exploded or otherwise damaged by whatever the villain was doing and/or the MonsterOfTheWeek. Commander Feral's catchphrase was "Bring me chopper backup!" That backup would either be late, or never get there.
255	[[/folder]]
256
257	[[folder:Real Life]]
258	* During the filming for ''Film/TwilightZoneTheMovie'', a helicopter crashed during filming, [[HelicopterBlender killing]] Creator/VicMorrow [[FatalMethodActing and two child actors on the ground]].
259	[[/folder]]

Context Main / HellishCopter