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Three soldiers who died in Army helicopter collision in Alaska are identified
The names of three soldiers killed in a mid-air collision between two military helicopters over Alaska were released by the U.S.
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The names of three soldiers killed in a mid-air collision between two military helicopters over Alaska were released by the U.S. Army on Saturday.
The deceased were identified as Chief Warrant Officer 3 Christopher Robert Eramo, 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.
"The battalion is devastated and mourning the loss of three of our best,” Lt. Col. Matthew C. Carlsen, commander of Alaska-based 1st Attack Battalion, 25th Aviation, said in a statement.
An additional soldier was injured in the crash and subsequently stabilized at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital in Alaska, the U.S. Army's 11th Airborne Division said in the statement.
The cause of Thursday's collision between two Apache attack helicopters near Healy, Alaska, was under investigation by a team from the Alabama-based U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center, the Army said.
The aircraft were returning from a training exercise when they collided, it said.
On Friday, Army Chief of Staff James McConville ordered all Army aviators except those on critical missions grounded for additional training.
"This stand down is an important step to make certain we are doing everything possible to prevent accidents and protect our personnel,” McConville said in a statement Friday.
On March 29, two U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters involved in a training mission crashed near Fort Campbell, Kentucky, killing nine soldiers.