Nine dead in crash of two US Army helicopters

Two US Army helicopters crashed during a nighttime training mission in Kentucky, killing all nine soldiers on board, a general said Thursday.

The helicopters — variants of the Black Hawk designed for medical evacuation — were taking part in a routine exercise, John Lubas Deputy Commander, 101st Airborne Division, said.

The aircraft were flying in formation with pilots using night vision goggles, and were steered to land in an open field across from a residential area, avoiding deaths or injuries on the ground.

The crash “resulted in the death of all nine service members aboard the aircraft,” all of them members of the 101st Airborne Division, which is based at Fort Campbell in Kentucky, Lubas said.

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Five soldiers were on one helicopter and four on another, with the military still working to notify all the families of those killed.

With an investigative team heading to Fort Campbell from the base where US Army Aviation is headquartered in Alabama, it was still unknown whether the two helicopters collided.

“We have a safety team coming… from Fort Rucker, Alabama who specialize in aircraft safety and specifically these investigations,” Lubas said.

Andy Beshear, Kentucky Governor mourned the lost soldiers and praised those who responded to the crash.

“Freedom relies on those who are willing to serve, some of which pay the ultimate price,” the governor told the news conference.

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.