JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A U.S. Army helicopter that was flying via a mountain cross in Alaska together with different plane coming back from a coaching train earlier this 12 months hit one of many different helicopters, inflicting each to crash and killing three troopers, a army investigation report launched Friday stated.
The accident security report from the US Army Fight Readiness Heart is among the many paperwork associated to the April 27 crash close to Healy, Alaska, that have been launched in response to a information request from The Related Press. An evaluation of the crash and findings and proposals have been redacted.
On the time of the crash, the Army stated the 2 helicopters from the first Assault Battalion, twenty fifth Aviation Regiment at Fort Wainwright, close to Fairbanks, collided about 50 miles (80 kilometers) east of Healy after they have been coming back from coaching. Healy is about 80 miles (129 kilometers) southwest of Fairbanks.
The paperwork present some new particulars. The helicopters have been amongst 14 plane that have been flying from Donnelly Coaching Space to Fort Wainwright on a route that included passing via a mountainous space, stated the report launched Friday.
About 48 minutes into the journey, the flight lead took a deliberate proper flip right into a mountain cross, the report stated. “Because the flight of 14 plane entered the mountain cross, plane within the flight started to decelerate,” the report stated. About 30 seconds after making the flip, one of many helicopters hit one other and each crashed, the report stated. Each plane have been destroyed.
The Army has recognized the troopers who died as Warrant Officer 1 Stewart Duane Wayment, 32, of North Logan, Utah; Chief Warrant Officer 3 Christopher Robert Eramo, 39, of Oneonta, New York; and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Kyle D. McKenna, 28, of Colorado Springs, Colorado. A fourth soldier was injured. That individual’s identify has not been launched. There have been two troopers on every AH-64D Apache helicopter.
The plane require two crewmembers for flight, stated Jimmie E. Cummings, Jr., director of communication and public affairs with the U.S. Army Fight Readiness Heart.
Following the crash, which occurred a month after 9 troopers have been killed when two Army Black Hawk medical evacuation helicopters crashed throughout a nighttime coaching train in Kentucky, the Army quickly grounded aviation items for coaching.
In February, a Black Hawk helicopter from the Tennessee Nationwide Guard crashed in Alabama throughout a flight-training mission, killing two crew members. Additionally that month, two troopers have been injured when an Army helicopter was concerned in a rollover accident in Alaska.
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