The US Army on Friday identified the nine soldiers who died in a training accident Wednesday night when two HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters crashed in a field near Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
Medical evacuation helicopters were conducting a routine training mission when they crashed in an open field in front of a Trigg County residential area.
All nine service members aboard the two helicopters, which belonged to the 101st Combat Brigade out of Fort Campbell, were killed in the crash.
The deceased are Chief Petty Officer Jeffrey Barnes, 33; Corporal Emilie Marie Eve Bolaños, 23; Petty Officer Second Zachary Esparza, 36; Sergeant Isaac John Gayo, 27; Sergeant Josué Gore, 25; Chief Petty Officer Aaron Healy, 32; Sergeant Taylor Mitchell, 30; Petty Officer 2 Rusten Smith, 32; and Sergeant David Salinas, 23.
Maj. Gen. JP McGee, commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division said in a statement Friday that “this is a time of great sadness… The loss of these soldiers will impact our formations for years to come.”
“Now is the time to mourn and heal. The entire division and this community stands behind the families and friends of our fallen soldiers,” he added.
It is still not clear what caused the accident; a team from Fort Rucker is currently on the scene and investigating the incident, the Army explained in a statement.
At least two of the soldiers were foreign-born.
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9 soldiers die in Kentucky after Black Hawk helicopters crash during training operations near Fort Campbell base