At least nine people are feared dead after two US Army Black Hawk helicopters collided during a training exercise in Kentucky: Eyewitness describes hearing “pop” and “two booms”.
- Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear tweeted in the early hours of Thursday that there was “hard news from Fort Campbell” with reports of a helicopter crash
- Trigg County rescue workers say two helicopters went down, and a U.S. Army soldier at the scene confirmed “multiple deaths” to local media.
- The 101st Airborne and 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment are based at Fort Campbell, which opened a $5 million helicopter training facility in July
At least nine people are said to have died in a collision between two Black Hawk helicopters during a routine training exercise in Kentucky.
Andy Beshear, the governor, said there was “hard news from Fort Campbell.”
The base, located on the Kentucky-Tennessee border 60 miles northwest of Nashville, is home to the 101st Airborne Regiment and the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.
“Two helicopters came over pretty low and suddenly – as soon as they were over the house – there was a bang, a loud bang. And everything shut down suddenly,” a local told WKDZ radio.
“So we jumped in the truck and drove over here, and that’s what we found — two helicopters.”
The two helicopters are said to have crashed shortly before 10 p.m. on Wednesday. Local media reported that nine deaths were feared
Trigg County Jail Warden James Hughes told the radio station he lives about half a mile away and heard what he thought was a collision.
Nondice Thurman, a spokesman for Fort Campbell, confirmed the accidents happened around 10 p.m. Wednesday in Trigg County near Highway 68.
The aircraft were two Blackhawk helicopters operated by the 101st Airborne Division.
Crew members were flying the plane during a routine training mission when an “incident” occurred.
Local media reported nine dead.
A US Army soldier at the scene confirmed to WKDZ radio that there had been “multiple deaths”.
The station reported that Trigg County Coroner John Mark Vinson had been called to the scene.
Local news station WKDZ said the image showed wreckage from one of the helicopters
A Black Hawk helicopter can be seen in action
Weather conditions at the time were reported as clear with light to no wind.
“The command is currently focused on caring for service members and their families,” the base said in a statement.
In July, a US$5 million helicopter training facility, the only one of its kind in the country, opened at the site, which features a seagoing vessel flight deck that will be used to “provide safe and realistic training for aircrew and ground operators before they board.” operating in a harsh environment over water,” the army said.
In February of this year, a Black Hawk UH-60 Alpha helicopter flew for the first time entirely unmanned, piloted by Fort Campbell.