Four U.S. soldiers killed in Kuwait copter accident
Military: Black Hawk crashed during training mission
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Two U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters have crashed during training missions in the past month.
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KUWAIT CITY (CNN) -- Four U.S. soldiers were killed early Tuesday when their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed near Camp New Jersey, about 31 miles [50 kilometers] northwest of Kuwait City, U.S. Central Command said.
The soldiers killed: Spc. Rodrigo Gonzalez-Garza, 26, of Texas, Chief Warrant Officer Timothy W. Moehling, 35, of Florida, Chief Warrant Officer John D. Smith, 32, of Nevada, and Spc. William J. Tracy, 27, of New Hampshire.
Gonzalez-Garza and Moehling were assigned to Company A, 5-158th Aviation, Giebelstadt Army Air Field, Germany. Smith and Tracy were assigned to Company B, 5-158th Aviation, Aviano Air Base, Italy.
The aircraft was on a night training mission when it crashed about 1 a.m. (5 p.m. Monday EST). The four crew members were the only personnel on board the aircraft.
The cause of the crash is being investigated, Central Command said.
In Afghanistan last month, another U.S. Army Black Hawk crashed during a nighttime training mission, killing all four crew members on board.
That aircraft, an MH-60 Black Hawk modified for special operations and technically known as a Pave Hawk, went down on the Shomali Plains about seven miles [11 kilometers] due east of Bagram Air Base, headquarters for U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
