An Army National Guard helicopter was attempting an “emergency training maneuver” in late January when it crashed in a farmer’s field in upstate New York, killing the three crew members who were aboard.
An Army investigation has ruled the crash was the result of a “procedural error” during the maneuver, New York National Guard officials said.
The UH-60 Black Hawk medical evacuation helicopter went down Jan. 20, 2021 south of Rochester, N.Y. Killed in the crash were Chief Warrant Officer 5 Steven Skoda, 54; Chief Warrant Officer 4 Christian Koch, 39; and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Daniel Prial, 30.
They were assigned to the 642nd Aviation Battalion and Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 171st General Support Aviation Battalion, a medical evacuation company based at Rochester International Airport, N.Y. Guard officials said.
All were combat veterans with more than 50 combined years worth of flight experience. A team from Fort Rucker, Alabama, home of the Army Aviation Center of Excellence, conducted the investigation. N.Y. National Guard officials later briefed family members on the results.
Witnesses reported hearing the engine sputtering as the helicopter was flying very low shortly before the crash. Guard officials earlier had said they were conducting night-vision goggle proficiency training at the time of the crash. The Army has since restricted practicing the “emergency training maneuver” to flight simulators only.
“Military aviation is inherently risky, due to the complex flying environments that our pilots and crews have to prepare for it,” New York National Guard officials said in a statement. “It can also be an unforgiving environment with life and death decisions and actions, no matter the circumstances, whether mechanical, weather or crew-related.”
The unit resumed flight operations in mid-March and “continues to review and improve its aircrew training program,” Guard officials said.
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