Black boxes were recovered from the site of the Army helicopter crash that killed a Utah soldier
Warrant Officer from North Logan was one of three soldiers killed in a collision.
(Cameron Roxberry | US Army via AP) In this photo released by the US Army, AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters from the 1st Attack Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment fly over a mountain range June 3 near Fort Wainwright, Alaska. 2019. The US Army says two Army helicopters similar to those pictured in this image crashed near Healy, Alaska on Thursday, April 27, 2023, killing three soldiers and injuring a fourth. The helicopters were returning from a training flight to Fort Wainwright, which was based near Fairbanks.
Juneau, Alaska • US military investigators have recovered flight data recorders from two Army helicopters that collided in a remote area of interior Alaska last week, killing three soldiers and injuring another, the Army said on Wednesday.
Two helicopters from the 1st Attack Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment at Fort Wainwright collided about 50 miles east of Healy while returning from training April 27, the Army said. Healy is about 80 miles southwest of Fairbanks.
An investigative team from Fort Novosel, Alabama, went to the crash site Monday when the flight data recorders, sometimes called flight recorders, and other “sensitive items” were recovered, the Army said.
Sensitive items include things like night vision goggles and communications equipment, said John Pennell, a spokesman for the US Army in Alaska. He said the team is continuing its work at the crash site.
The army grounded aviation units on Friday to conduct further training following recent fatal accidents.
The Army has identified those killed in last week’s crash 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.
A private memorial service is planned for Thursday at Fort Wainwright near Fairbanks.
The injured soldier is recovering at home after being discharged from hospital, the army said. The soldier’s name was not released.
