Two U.S. Army Helicopters Crash in Alaska, Killing 3 Soldiers

[beijingwalker]

Two U.S. Army Helicopters Crash in Alaska, Killing 3 Soldiers​

The helicopters were returning from a training flight on Thursday when they crashed near Healy, Alaska. The fourth soldier on board was injured.

An AH-64 Apache with the 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, training near Fort Wainwright, Alaska, in 2021.Credit...U.S. Army.

By Livia Albeck-Ripka

Published April 27, 2023Updated April 28, 2023, 1:36 a.m. ET

Two U.S. Army helicopters returning from a training flight crashed in Alaska on Thursday with four people aboard, killing three soldiers and injuring the fourth, Army officials said.

The Army’s 11th Airborne Division confirmed the deaths late Thursday, saying that the two AH-64 Apache helicopters had crashed near Healy, Alaska, which is more than 200 miles north of Anchorage. Two of the four soldiers were declared dead at the crash site, and a third died on the way to a hospital in Fairbanks, it said.

“This is an incredible loss for these soldiers’ families, their fellow soldiers, and for the division,” Maj. Gen. Brian Eifler, the division’s commanding general, said in a statement.

The Army said it was withholding the names of the dead until their families could be notified, and that the incident was under investigation. John M. Pennell, a spokesman for 11th Airborne Division, said that he did not yet have details on the injured soldier’s condition.

The helicopters were from the 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, at Fort Wainwright, officials said.

The crash was one of several recent crashes involving U.S. Army helicopters. Last month, two Black Hawk helicopters collided during a routine training mission near the Kentucky-Tennessee border, killing nine soldiers. And in February, two soldiers were injured when an Apache helicopter crashed after takeoff in Alaska.

In 2019, three Army National Guard members were killed when the Black Hawk helicopter that was carrying them crashed during a test flight in Minnesota. In 2015, 11 people were killed after an Army helicopter conducting a training mission went down in a thick blanket of fog over the waters of Santa Rosa Sound, Fla.

Other branches of the U.S. military, including the Navy and the National Guard, have reported similar incidents.

Between 2012 and 2021, nearly 300 National Guard helicopters crashed during noncombat flights, according to federal government investigators, who last month recommended that the National Guard reassess its safety protocols. In June, the U.S. Navy temporarily grounded flights to conduct safety reviews.

Two U.S. Army Helicopters Crash in Alaska, Killing 3 Soldiers

The helicopters were returning from a training flight on Thursday when they crashed near Healy, Alaska. The fourth soldier on board was injured.

www.nytimes.com

 

[beijingwalker]

US Army grounds its aircraft after recent mid-air collisions​

April 29 2023

IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES
By Max Matza
BBC News

The US Army has grounded all aircraft except those on "critical missions" after two recent fatal mid-air crashes.

The "aviation stand down" order announced on Friday comes a day after two Apache helicopters collided in Alaska, killing three US Army pilots.

Army Chief of Staff James McConville said the aviators will remain grounded until they complete extra training.

A crash on 20 March involving two Black Hawk helicopters in Kentucky left nine soldiers dead.

"We are deeply saddened by those we have lost," General McConville said in a statement.

"It is their loss that makes it all the more important we review our safety procedures and training protocols, and ensure we are training and operating at the highest levels of safety and proficiency."

He added Army pilots "will focus on safety and training protocols to ensure our pilots and crews have the knowledge, training and awareness to safely complete their assigned mission".

• Cause of deadly US Army helicopter crash unclear

The stand down is effective immediately. It does not effect any other part of the US military besides the Army.

Active-duty troops will be required to complete their training within 24 hours in the first week of May while National Guard and Reserve units have until the end of the month.
As each unit reports having done the training they will be able to return to normal operations.

The recent incidents, which occurred in different parts of the country, are under investigation but officials say "there is no indication of any pattern".

The crash on Thursday occurred near Fort Wainwright, Alaska, as the troops were returning from a training mission, the Army said. In addition to the three that died, one was critically injured.

Three troops were part of the 11th Airborne Division, which is nicknamed the "Arctic Angels", according to the Associated Press.

US Army grounds its aircraft after recent mid-air collisions

The "aviation stand down" for non-critical aircraft comes after 12 soldiers killed in crashes.

www.bbc.com