Army officials said a special military investigation team is at the scene of the fatal crash of two Black Hawk helicopters that killed nine people in southwestern Kentucky, but weather conditions have slowed initial work.
A team of about eight members from Fort Rucker in Alabama arrived at the scene around 7 p.m. Thursday night but rain and wind have slowed their efforts, said Don Grimes, a public information officer at Fort Campbell.
“The investigation is active but is being hampered by the weather,” Grimes said Friday.
Two HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters crashed near Fort Campbell during a medical evacuation training exercise on Wednesday night, killing all nine soldiers aboard the two aircraft. The crash occurred in Trigg County, Kentucky, about 30 miles (48 km) northwest of the army post, which is home to the 101st Airborne Division. The helicopters crashed in a field near a residential area, but the military did not say whether the two Black Hawks collided mid-air before hitting the ground.
Army officials said they expected to make the identities of the soldiers public by Friday evening.
Army officials said the two Black Hawks were flying together during a training exercise at night. The pilots were using night vision goggles. The Brigadier said the accident happened during take-off and not during a medical evacuation exercise. Gen. John Lubas, 101st Airborne deputy commander.
A similar accident involving two Black Hawks occurred at Fort Campbell in 1996, when the two aircraft were struck by propellers during a training exercise. Five jawans were killed and over two dozen were injured. An Army spokesman said this was the last accident involving more than one helicopter at Fort Campbell.
The last fatal aviation accident at Fort Campbell occurred in 2018, when an Apache helicopter crashed during training, killing two soldiers on board.
Black Hawk helicopters have something similar to black boxes on passenger planes, which record the planes’ performance in flight and are used by investigators to analyze crashes. Officials said they are hoping the device will provide some insight into the cause of Wednesday’s crash.
The Black Hawk helicopter is an important workhorse for the US military and is used for security, transportation, medical evacuation, search and rescue, and other missions. Many people know the helicopters from the 2001 film “Black Hawk Down”, which is about the 1993 war in Somalia.