U.S. military investigators recovered flight data recorders from two Army helicopters that killed three soldiers and wounded one in a clash last week in a remote Alaskan interior, the Army said Wednesday.
Two helicopters from the 1st Attack Battalion, 25th Air Regiment at Fort Wainwright collided about 50 miles east of Healy on April 27 while returning from training, the Army said. Healy is about 80 miles southwest of Fairbanks.
Military helicopter crash in Alaska killed 3 soldiers in mountains, cause under investigation
An investigative team from Fort Novosell, Alabama, went to the crash site on Monday and recovered a flight data recorder, sometimes called a black box, and other “classified items,” the Army said.
Two H-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters from the 1st Attack Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment are seen flying over Alaskan airspace. The longbow pictured is similar to the one involved in the fatal April 27 crash at Fort Wainwright. (Cameron Roxbury/U.S. Army via AP)
Confidential items include night vision equipment and communications equipment, said John Pennell, a spokesperson for the US Army in Alaska. He said the team continues to work at the crash site.
The Army grounded its air force on Friday to conduct further training after the recent fatal accident.
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The Army has identified those killed in last week’s crash as Chief Warrant Officer 3 Christopher Robert Elamo, 39, of Oneonta, New York. Chief Warrant Officer 2 Kyle D. McKenna, 28, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Warrant Officer 1 Stewart Duane Wayment, 32, of North Logan, Utah.
A private memorial service is scheduled for Thursday at Fort Wainwright near Fairbanks.
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The army said the wounded soldier is recovering at home after being discharged from the hospital. The soldier’s name has not been released.
