[MilCom] 7 Killed in Army Helicopter Crash in Texas

[MC]

This accident is very unfortunate, and my condolences
to the families of all those lost.  Having said that,
this accident never should have happened.  Not that
any accident should, but this one especially.  As a
retired Army National Guard Blackhawk instructor pilot
who spent four years at Fort Hood (and yes it really
sucked!) and subsequently another 16 years in the
Texas Army National Guard (and nearly as many summers
at Fort Hood, which sucked even more!), its clearly
apparent many failures contributed to this accident. 
The accident investigation team from the Army Safety
Center at Fort Rucker, Alabama, certainly will be
exploring many of the questions I'm about to ask. 
First, why were they flying in marginal VFR conditions
(or scud running)?  The Blackhawk is fully capable of
filing IFR and flying in the clouds, even light and
moderate icing conditions, so why wasn't an IFR flight
plan filed and flown?  In fact, Army regulations
require pilots to file IFR unless mission requirements
dictate otherwise or the mission can't be completed in
a timely manner.  Was a map recon done before
departure, if so they would have known that that
Bruceville/Eddy area is littered with huge TV
transmission towers.  Even on the clearest of days we
used to avoid that area like the plague. Were NOTAMS
checked?  No excuse for not knowing tower lights were
non-operational. Who signed off on the mission
briefing and allowed the mission to proceed into
marginal weather?  Were there equipment or instrument
problems that prevented the ship from being flown IFR,
and if so, how long have the write-ups been in the
books and not fixed, and why wasn't another ship
capable of flying IFR dispatched instead?  Was there
pressure put upon the aircrew by the One Star to get
him and his team (including his dog robber, a Captain)
to Red River Depot to get that inspection done?  Not
the first time a young Warrant Officer or junior
commissioned officer would be influenced into a bad
decision by a high ranking superior officer (yes, I
was guilty of this as a young aspiring Warrant
conscious of my military career advancement). 
Ultimately, the Pilot-In-Command is responsible and it
most likely will be deemed pilot error, but rest
assured that several military careers are over, most
likely starting with the Company Commander and going
up the chain from there.  

Thanks for letting me vent.  While I was in the
service, this kind of catastrophe was just the kind of
thing we instructors worked so hard to prevent, and it
just hits too close to home and makes the loss even
harder to accept.

Mark


--- GG <mystic at ikansas.com> wrote:

> 7 Killed in Army Helicopter Crash in Texas
> 
> 14 minutes ago   U.S. National - AP
> 
> 
> By NATALIE GOTT, Associated Press Writer
> 
> BRUCEVILLE-EDDY, Texas - An Army helicopter carrying
> seven soldiers crashed
> and burned in the fog Monday after hitting a web of
> support wires on a TV
> transmission tower whose warning lights had been
> knocked out in a storm last
> week, officials said. Everyone aboard was killed.
> 
> 
> AP Photo
> 
> 
> AFP
>  Slideshow: 7 Killed in Army Helicopter Crash in
> Texas
> 
>   Chopper With 7 Soldiers Crashes in Texas
> (AP Video)
> 
> 
> 
> The UH-60 Black Hawk, bound for the Red River Army
> Depot in Texarkana, went
> down in a field about 30 miles northeast of Fort
> Hood. The fog was so thick
> when emergency crews arrived that they could not see
> more than halfway up
> the tower, authorities said.
> 
> 
> The helicopter was headed to check out equipment
> being readied for use in
> Iraq (news - web sites), said Lt. Col. Jonathan
> Withington, spokesman for
> the Fort Hood-based 4th Infantry Division. The names
> of the victims, all
> from Fort Hood, were not immediately released.
> 
> 
> Rock Eicke, who lives a quarter-mile from the crash
> site, said he was
> getting ready for work at about 7 a.m. when he was
> startled by a loud sound.
> He looked out his window and saw the helicopter hit
> the ground.
> 
> 
> "All of the sudden I just saw a big ball of fire
> erupt from the ground and
> then boom, an explosion," Eicke said. "It was
> burning to the point that we
> couldn't have done anything."
> 
> 
> The main part of the fuselage went down in a field
> about 200 to 300 yards
> from the tower, said McLennan County constable Ken
> Brown.
> 
> 
> Eicke and Brown said charred and smoldering pieces
> of the helicopter were
> scattered for hundreds of yards. Two of the bodies
> were seen inside the
> helicopter; others were lying in the field.
> 
> 
> An investigation team was sent to the scene to
> determine the cause of the
> crash. Withington said the team's priority Monday
> night was "to secure the
> scene and recover the bodies." He said other Black
> Hawk helicopters from
> Fort Hood would pick up the bodies and return them
> to the post.
> 
> 
> The helicopter hit several of 21 wires stabilizing
> the 1,800-foot tower,
> said Jerry Pursley, general manager of
> Waco-Temple-Killeen station KXXV,
> which owns the tower. The tower itself was not hit,
> he said.
> 
> 
> The tower's lights stopped working early last week
> after strong storms hit
> the area, Pursley said. He said the station notified
> the Federal Aviation
> Administration (news - web sites).
> 
> 
> FAA (news - web sites) spokesman Roland Herwig said
> the agency sent a notice
> Wednesday to a computer database checked by pilots
> before they fly for
> information on potential hazards. Hundreds of such
> notices are issued every
> week around the country, and they typically stay
> posted for 15 days, he
> said.
> 
> 
> The crash occurred at the highest point in McLennan
> County, with 30
> different towers within a five-mile radius of where
> the helicopter went
> down, Sheriff's Deputy Shannon Mitchell said.
> 
> 
> The Black Hawk, which the military began using in
> 1979, is the Army's main
> troop transport helicopter. It can carry 15 people
> and usually is flown by a
> crew of four.
> 
> 
> In November 2003, 17 soldiers were killed when two
> Black Hawk helicopters
> crashed in Iraq, apparently as a result of enemy
> fire.



		
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