at least nine soldiers Americans died when two Black Hawk helicopters from the US Army USAcrashed during a training exercise in Kentucky, government officials reported.
The accident occurred in Trigg County, west of Fort Campbell, the Army base said in a statement.
The two HH-60 Black Hawk medical evacuation aircraft were taking part in a training exercise, officials said. The nine soldiers were assigned in fort campbell, in the 101st Airborne Division.
brigadier general John Lubas, said there were five people in one helicopter and four in the other, which he described as “pretty typical.” The soldiers were flying using night vision goggles, Lubas reported.
The Army has deployed an Alabama aircraft safety team that will launch an investigation into the cause of the crash, the Brigadier General said.
Lubas added that he is hopeful that investigators can extract data from the on-board computers, noting that there is something similar to a black box on board that may shed more light on the accident.
“This is a truly tragic loss for our families, our division and Fort Campbell, and our number one priority is to care for the families and soldiers of our combat aviation brigade,” Lubas said.
The Governor of Kentucky, Andy Beshear, he said during a news conference: “We know a lot about the losses in Kentucky, especially in these past few years. We’re going to do what we always do. We’re going to wrap our arms around these families.”
Kentucky State Police were at the scene of the helicopter crash, along with military investigators and several other agencies, the department said in a news release.
State police said the crash occurred in a partially wooded field and a perimeter had been established around the debris.
Source: Ambito
