Crash of Army helicopter in Colorado kills four soldiers

August 21, 2009|Associated Press

DENVER - Four soldiers died after a Black Hawk helicopter crashed during a training mission on Colorado’s second-highest mountain, the Army’s Special Operations Command said yesterday.

The helicopter crashed Wednesday afternoon near the summit of 14,421-foot Mount Massive.

The Army initially said two were killed, one was injured, and one was missing. The missing man was found dead late Wednesday, and the injured man died on the way to the hospital, said Lieutenant Colonel John Clearwater, a spokesman for the command at Fort Bragg, N.C.

All were male soldiers from Fort Campbell, Ky., he said. Their names have not been released.

The crew was training in high-altitude mountainous conditions, “much like the environment they operate in Afghanistan,’’ Clearwater said, adding that he didn’t know whether the crew had served there.

The helicopter was assigned to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) at Fort Campbell. Soldiers in the 160th are known as “Night Stalkers’’ because they specialize in nighttime operations. The regiment’s website said the 160th has carried out combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Wednesday’s flight began at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, which is about 90 miles east of Mount Massive.

The cause of the crash has not been released. The Black Hawk’s flight recorder was recovered, and an investigation team from Fort Rucker, Ala., was at the crash site, Clearwater said.

The MH-60 Black Hawk is frequently used for infiltration missions and to bring supplies to special operations forces in the field, according to the unit’s website.