It's something we are unlikely to find out really since everyone related with the chopper are now dead so we can only surmize. The only real logical reason for it being shot down by the Gov is that he didn't want Woodbury discovered. It seems he's very protective of his position/ colony. If it was flying around doing reconnaisance they would make several passes and so the Gov would have had plenty of time to put someone in place to shoot it down, I'm guessing it could have been in the air a while and well spotted.
As for the maintenance issue, it's only 8 months down the line, helicopters (or any large equipment with complex working parts, even printing presses to cranes) have good durability, they are built to last in possibly very hostile environments. Generally speaking in this sense they will do far better mileage a year than automobiles. I'm pretty certain that a well maintained helicopter will not have mechanical problems only 8 months down the line or even a year even with heavy use. Plus it was a problem with the rotors - the most durable part of a helicopter. Not a fuel line or technical/ electrical problem. Where there is smoke there is fire, just like a car, a helicopter won't churn out black smoke only from a technical problem even if something breaks unless it breaks a fuel line and the hot working parts cause it to burn fuel. But there is no fuel line near the rotor. So for my eyes, it was likely shot down for sure.

 

I also thought that it might've been a gun that brought it down. I was convinced i'd hear a shot hit the helicopter. But then i realised it malfunctioned for a second beforehand, and that would have been completely pointless to film if it was just going to get shot. I think the helicopter got damaged when they were escaping and it just went down from mechanical stuff.

 

Good point about multiple passes - the gov certainly would have wanted to shoot it down if he could. Still, even if he was lucky enough to have someone in that spot - (within a half mile of the copter's path (that is a 1,000 yard shot at fast moving, elevated and relatively small vulnerable points) it would have been taken a very lucky shot.

As for maintenance, if you have direct experience with helicopters (especially military helicopters) I will defer to you and be quite pleased by how much the hardware has improved. My experience is flying Navy E-2C's - a much older animal but probably more mechanically forgiving. The aircraft (and the NG's helicopter) are quite reliable if well maintained by at least a dozen different specialist, complex maintenance equipment, spare parts, clean fuel and lubricants etc... things the NG survivors most likely did not have. Also, as a general rule, military aircraft are more reliable the more they are flown - Getting the hanger-queen to fly took a lot of work and a bit of a pucker factor. This was true for all of the aircraft, even the newer F-18s.

All that said, minor detail in a great story - if the writers wanted it shot down, then it was shot down.

 

Will the herd be attracted by the crash?

 

I'm a bit surprised there are so many poeple thinking it was shot down. go back and rewatch the episode. there are Warning buzzers and lights and the Helicopter shaking .

and then all of the buzzers and alarms turn off (for 3-4 seconds) i believe someone says something like "damn turbulence" as if the turbulance caused the issue

then there's an audible bang (like a motor blowing) all of the alarm bells/ lights come back, and now there is smoke coming off the helicopter (CGI Added)

LoL i'm not sure if I'm just seeing what i want to, or the other posters are seeing what they want to.. either way it was still a great episode :Grin: :shining:

 

Wouldn't the pilot say "we're taking enemy fire" or something like that if the helicopter was being shot at?

 

There are two reasons to doubt that Randal came from Woodbury. First, Shane was told by Randal that the group he was with was a rough and rowdy bunch in which Shane would 'fit right in'. That description doesn't seem consistent with Woodbury's (ostensibly) well-ordered social structure, clean streets, families, etc. Also, if the men Rick shot in the bar were from Woodbury, why would they be so covetous of Hershel's farm if they already had a better colony in which to live at Woodbury?

 

They weren't so much interested in the farm as the women and girls who might be there. Rick and Hershel realized that right away.

 

That said... I don't believe they were from Woodbury either. They were marauders - I don't think the governor would tolerate that as it does nothing to strengthen himself - he is a different kind of evil.

 

Talk about over analyzing this show. That never crossed my mind but if you guys are right then they sure got me. I still think its highly unlikely. I got to play that part again.

 

Randall's group sucks when it comes to raiding and scavenging. They sent in 2 scouts to check out the bar in town. Tried to attempt a stupid ambush and got killed. Then the 3 guys in the truck, Nate, Randall and Sean went in to investigate and they started shooting rounds from some semi-auto rifle at a few walkers that could have been handled quietly with a melee weapons. Rick requested them to back off, but they fired and wasted time which ended up getting Sean killed, Randall left behind along with Dave and Tony dead in the bar which left Nate on the truck to drive off. For a scavenging party, that is pretty mediocre. The shooting happened to cause a lot of walkers to invade the town. And since the state of Woodbury existed 7-8 months later after Season 2 and it could be possible Randall's group merged with them later on, I think the tactics of Randall's group would eventually get them all killed. They didn't seem like smart people to me.

Woodbury on the other end searched the helicopter like pros. They went in, relied on stealth and didn't even waste a single bullet. Even the asian guy that assists the Governor had a suppressed pistol and he was told not to fire anyway unless he really had to.

 

Good point... I think it was either shot down or they just had mechanical issues.

 

Right on Greek

The nature of Randall's group is hugely important to the show. How Rick's group treated Randall was pivotal and defined their perception of the world and how they would react to it.

As for over-analyzing... I don't think we are... and even if we are, that's what a fan(atic) forum is for.

Best

Jackl

 

If I had to guess, I think the transmission went. I'm not sure but I don't think a Huey can auto rotate if the main bearing of the transmission seizes. (Don't write that in stone with the blood of virgin mothers, it was a conversation from LONG ago and many beers ago).

 

I say Maintenance. Although a Huey isnt armored. If it were and Apache gunship Id say engine trouble, those things are flying tanks...Huey's not so much. The crew would have realized they were taking fire anyhow and it t seemed like it was lack of maintenance.

 

It was a shitty helicopter.

 

I think that the governor's crew shot the helicopter down because we were already shown in the last episode, that the governor and his crew were almost on-scene immediately. Then towards the end after talking to the pilot (which they beheaded and put into a jar like the rest of his victims), they went to the army caravan off the highway and killed them and scavenged their supplies. This is why I feel that he shot down the helicopter.

 

how bout an emp device of some sort

 

Govs scientist could've built one the built that thing that attracted Walker's