In the wake of Wednesday night’s two-helicopter crash in Trigg County, officials with the U.S. Department of Defense took questions and made comments Thursday afternoon surrounding the situation — and what it means for the Armed Forces.
Asked if Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III would soon consider “broader oversight review” on all avionics and training mishaps in the services, which have been several in the last decade, Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brigadier General Pat Ryder offered a two-fold answer.
He urged soldier safety is taken “very, very seriously,” and “they’re never going to let up on it.”
Ryder further noted that OST — or the Office of Secure Transportation — wouldn’t be involved in the Trigg County investigation, as crashes such as these often lean on the expertise of the branch’s skills and knowledge.
However, could other Black Hawk military and medical helicopters be grounded across the country following this tragedy, which claimed the lives of nine soldiers in a routine training exercise?
Ryder said the fact-finding needs to commence and be completed, but it theoretically could happen.
In a statement from Austin, said his “heart goes out to the families of these service members and to the members of the 101st Airborne Division who bravely and proudly serve our country each and every day.
“I’m saddened by this tragic loss, and I am working with Army leadership to make sure our troops and their families receive the care that they need in the wake of this accident.”
This past February, two crew members from the Tennessee National Guard died in a Black Hawk crash near Montgomery, Alabama, and many such incidents have been reported over the last three decades.
From 1981 until 1984, the UH-60 and its variants crashed 16 times, killing 22. In 1985, the U.S. Army did briefly ground the helicopter, when six crashes over a span of four months killed 15. A March 13, 1985 crash near Fort Bragg claimed 12 lives — eight soldiers and four crewmen.
Between December 2019 and February 2021, 11 Black Hawk military helicopters crashed around the world — killing no less than 25 people, and injuring some.
In a 2021 story from armytimes.com, it was reported that nearly 86 percent of Army aviation mishaps could be attributed to human error, attributable to things like overreactions during an emergency or complacency in routine flights.
