Four Army aviators died in a training mission crash of two OH-58 Kiowa helicopters at Joint Base Lewis-McChord Monday night, JBLM reported. No others were involved in the crash.
The crash occurred sometime after 8 p.m. inside the southwest training area at JBLM in Thurston County.
The choppers went down in a wooded area of Thurston County, a place on the sprawling base known as Area 21 that's not far from the town of Rainier, KIRO 7 News reporter Richard Thompson said.
An investigation into the cause of the crash began soon after by local JBLM authorities, and an overall investigation would be conducted by the Combat Readiness Center at Fort Rucker, Ala., the release said.
The Army will not release the victims names until next of kin have been notified plus 24 hours, in accordance with Defense Department policy.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends and loved ones of the Soldiers involved in this tragic accident," said Major General Lloyd Miles, acting senior Army commander at JBLM and deputy commanding general of I Corps. "We will conduct a thorough investigation into this incident, and we will do everything in our power to support the families of the brave Soldiers who died this evening."
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Before the close of the shift last night, one of our machinist bros told me his wife just called him, and told him about the crash. They live near the base south of Tacoma. The base is huge, and since it's what the military now calls "Joint Base Lewis McChord," the US Air Force has strategic/combat forces based there.
Several Combat Brigades have been involved in Iraq, and Afghanistan, and lost many members in those conflicts, who are, and were based at JBLM.
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Yes it was foggy last night... Very, very foggy. Has been so for the past two, three weeks. Every night we've been scraping car windshields, and driving across freezing bridges, overpasses, and slippery, less traveled roads...
Quite possibly these guys were so close that the rotors touched... Fog.
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Latest news reports (radio-NPR affiliate) sat that weather at the time of the crash was colder than 'normal,' in the lower thirties, and upper twenties, but NOT foggy. At least not so foggy that a flight was cancelled. Hence, they flew using reckoning, radar, and infra-red navigation devices.
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THURSTON COUNTY, Wash. The Army isnt saying yet whether a mid-air collision caused the crash of two reconnaissance helicopters at a training area on Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The accident Monday night killed four Washington-based Army aviators.
The helicopters went down in a wooded area just after eight oclock in the evening. The four pilots two in each chopper were on a nighttime training flight. They were flying model called the Kiowa Warrior equipped with high-tech surveillance gear.
These single engine helicopters are used extensively in Iraq and Afghanistan to provide air support and security for ground troops. Army safety officer James Oliphant says the pilots would have been using night vision. But he adds the weather was clear at the time of the crash.
When I arrived here last night the conditions were what we would call VFR conditions so they were certainly suitable for flying. That will be part of the investigation also, Oliphant said.
The Army is bringing in crash investigators from a post in Alabama. The names of those killed in the accident have not been released. The last time a Fort Lewis-based chopper crashed during nighttime training was in 2006 killing three.
Copyright 2011 Northwest News Network
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Hmm. That address doesnt look right. It looks like the link pointing here was faulty.
Last few days of MIR sometimes the most bizarre shit takes place. When Mercury goes direct, it stays in the same degree for 5 days. If that degree matches up with you somehow and you got something big goin' on, could be "drama time"...or atleast "center stage".
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If you are in a horror movie, you make bad decisions, its what you do.
