On March 29, 2023, two Sikorsky HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters, both operated by the

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...

, collided over Fort Campbell in

Trigg County Trigg County is a county located on the far southwestern border of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,061. Its county seat is Cadiz. Formed in 1820, the county was named for Stephen Trigg, an officer in th ...

, Kentucky, United States. All nine servicemembers were killed. The black boxes belonging to the helicopters were found, as well as

night-vision goggles A night-vision device (NVD), also known as a night optical/observation device (NOD), night-vision goggle (NVG), is an optoelectronic device that allows visualization of images in low levels of light, improving the user's night vision. The dev ...

used by the pilots during the exercise.

Crash

The crash occurred at around 11 pm ( EDT), during a routine training mission over Trigg County, Kentucky. Both helicopters were operated by the

. The crash occurred just west of the US Army post of Fort Campbell, near the Kentucky- Tennessee border. A local witness, James Hughes, stated that the helicopters had been flying "pretty low" over local homes when the collision occurred. The weather at the time of the crash was clear. Early in the morning of 30 March 2023, the 101st Airborne confirmed that there had been a number of casualties. A US Army soldier at the scene informed the local WKDZ-FM radio station that there had been several fatalities and that the county

coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

had been called.

Kentucky state police The Kentucky State Police (KSP) is a department of the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, and the official State Police force of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, responsible for statewide law enforcement. The department was founded in 194 ...

(KSP) were called at around 10:15 (EST), and rushed to an area of woods and fields. Sarah Burgess, a spokesperson for the KSP stated that multiple agencies were participating in the investigation, and also stated that no residential areas had been affected.

Prior incidents

The incident was not the first air collision in the vicinity of the post; in March 1988, 17 servicemen were killed when two UH-60 Black Hawks collided doing routine night maneuvers. In 1996, six 101st Airborne Division servicemen were killed when two army Black Hawk helicopters collided near the post. In 2015, two pilots were killed following a helicopter crash during training. In 2017, four pilots were injured in a similar incident, and in 2018, a helicopter crash nearby killed two people.

Victims

There were no survivors of the incident; all nine servicemen perished. They were: WO1 Jeffrey Barnes, CPL Emilie Marie Eve Bolanos, CW2 Zachary Esparza, SGT Isaacjohn Gayo, SSG Caleb Gore, WO1 Aaron Healy, SSG Taylor Mitchell, CW2 Rusten Smith, and SGT David Solinas Jr. Three servicemembers were posthumously promoted as follows: * CPL Emilie Marie Eve Bolanos, promoted to Sergeant; * CW2 Zachary Esparza, promoted to Chief Warrant Officer Three; * WO1 Aaron Healy, promoted to Chief Warrant Officer Two.

Response

Kentucky governor Andy Beshear announced the incident on Twitter soon after it occurred, stating that fatalities were expected. US Senate Minority Leader

Mitch McConnell Addison Mitchell McConnell III (born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and retired attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky and the Senate minority leader since 2021. Currently in his seventh term, McConne ...

of Kentucky said that he was "devastated", and that his team was in contact with the US Army and authorities on the ground.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fort Campbell mid-air collision, 2023 2023 in Kentucky 101st Airborne Division Accidents and incidents involving the Sikorsky HH-60 Pave Hawk Aviation accidents and incidents in Kentucky Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 2023 March 2023 events in the United States Mid-air collisions involving helicopters Mid-air collisions involving military aircraft Trigg County, Kentucky

Crash

Prior incidents

Victims

Response

See also

References