1978 British Army Gazelle downing On 17 February 1978 , a British Army Gazelle helicopter , serial number XX404 , went down near Jonesborough , County Armagh , Northern Ireland , after being fired at by a Provisional IRA unit from the South Armagh Brigade . The IRA unit was involved in a gun battle with a Green Jackets ' observation post deployed in the area , and the helicopter was sent in to support the ground troops . The helicopter crashed after the pilot lost control of the aircraft whilst evading ground fire . Lieutenant - Colonel Iain Douglas Corden - Lloyd , 2nd Battalion Green Jackets commanding officer , died in the crash . The incident was overshadowed by the La Mon restaurant bombing , which took place just hours later near Belfast . Background . By early 1978 , the British Army forces involved in Operation Banner had recently replaced their ageing Bell H - 13 Sioux helicopters for the more versatile Aérospatiale Gazelles . The introduction of the new machines increased the area covered per recce sortie as well as the improved time spent in airborne missions . In the same period , the Provisional IRA received the first consignment of M - 60 machine gun s from the Middle East , which were displayed by masked volunteers during a Bloody Sunday commemoration in Derry . Airborne operations were crucial for the British presence along the border , especially in south County Armagh , where every single supply and soldier had to be ferried in and out of their bases by helicopter since 1975 . The Royal Green Jackets had been on tour in South Armagh since December 1977 , and had already seen some action . Just a few days after arrival , two mortar rounds hit the C Company base at Forkhill , injuring a number of soldiers . In the aftermath of the attack , two Royal Ulster Constabulary ( RUC ) officers were wounded while recovering the lorry where the mortar tubes were mounted . Two days later , a patrol near the border suffered a bomb and gun attack , leaving the commanding Sergeant with severe head wounds . The sergeant was picked up from the scene by helicopter . He was later invalided from the Army as result of his injuries . Shooting and crash . On 17 January 1978 , a Green Jackets observation post deployed around the village of Jonesborough began to take heavy fire from the " March Wall " , which drew parallel to the border with the Republic to the east , along the Dromad woods . The soldiers returned fire , but the short distance to the border and the open ground prevented them from advancing . The Commanding Officer , Lieutenant Colonel Iain Corden - Lloyd , along with Captain Schofield and Sergeant Ives flew from the battalion base at Bessbrook Mill to asssess the situation and provide information to the troops . While hovering over the scene of the engagement , the pilot lost control of the aircraft during a turn at high speed to avoid the ground fire . The Gazelle ( serial number XX404 ) hit a wall and crashed on a field , some 2 , 000 meters from Jonesborough . Corden - Lloyd was killed and the other two passengers were wounded . The machine laid on its right side . The pilot remained trapped inside the wreckage , but he survived thanks to his helmet . The IRA said that they had shot at the helicopter with an M - 60 machine gun . The IRA unit vanished into the Dromad woods and inside the Republic ' s boundaries . Some Gardaí witnessed the attack from the other side of the border . Aftermath . In spite of the death of one of the most senior British officers killed during the Troubles , the gun - battle and Gazelle shootdown was displaced from the headlines by the shocking deaths of 12 civilians in the bombing of La Mon restaurant on the same day . Initially the British Army downplayed the IRA ' s claim as published by " An Phoblacht " — that the helicopter was shot down , on the basis that no hits were found on the wreckage , but finally they acknowledged that the IRA action had caused the crash . The death of Corden - Lloyd , a former SAS officer , was deeply regretted by the Army , who lost a promising young officer . He was awarded a posthumous mention in dispatches ' in recognition of gallant and distinguished service in Northern Ireland ' . In 1973 , Irish Republican sources had accused Corden - Lloyd and his subordinates of brutality against Irish Catholic civilians in Belfast during an earlier tour of the Green Jackets in 1971 , at the time of Operation Demetrius .