Army helicopters collide during exercise
Six soldiers killed; civilians injured
June 18, 1996
Web posted at: 11:55 p.m. EDTWASHINGTON (CNN) -- Six members of the elite 101st Airborne Division were killed when two Army Blackhawk helicopters collided in midair Tuesday afternoon while conducting a demonstration exercise at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
Thirty people were injured, including two civilians who were watching the air maneuvers, the Army said.
The Blackhawk helicopters, part of the 101st Airborne Division based at Fort Campbell, are light transport aircraft used for attack missions or medical evacuations. The crafts usually carry three-person crews, and can transport up to 11 combat-equipped troops. Sources say there were 24 soldiers and eight crew members on the two helicopters.
The two helicopters were conducting a demonstration of air assault techniques, in which the helicopters hover a short distance off the ground and soldiers rappel out on ropes. Their audience included members of The Association of the United States Army, the Army said.
Apparently the crash occurred after the helicopters' rotors touched during the demonstration. Army officials have closed the base to the media, and have confiscated videotape of the incident from an independent cameraman who witnessed the crash.
The U.S. military has been plagued this year by crashes of helicopters and other types of aircraft. In March, an MH-47 Chinook crashed in Olmstead, Kentucky, during a routine Army training flight, killing all five crew members on board. That crash was caused by pilot error, the Army disclosed Tuesday night.
The Marine Corps has also seen a spate of fatal crashes; it suspended non-essential flights for two days on March 27, following its ninth crash since the beginning of 1996. In May, the Marines suffered yet another major crash when two Marine helicopters -- a Cobra gunship and a CH-46 twin-rotor helicopter -- crashed at Camp LeJeune in a nighttime exercise. Most of the 16 people aboard the two aircraft died.
Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Navy grounds largest helicopters - June 12, 1996
- Cause of military crash still unclear - May 10, 1996
- Marine helicopters collide at Camp Lejeune; 14 dead - May 10, 1996
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