Flight data recorders from the two U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters that crashed on March 29 in a nighttime training exercise near Fort Campbell, Kentucky have been recovered.
According to a news release from the 101st Airborne Division, a U.S. Army aviation team recovered the “black boxes” on Tuesday. The devices are already undergoing analysis at Fort Rucker, Alabama.
“The duration of the investigation is determined by the thorough analysis of all factors,” division spokesman Lt. Col. Tony Hoefler said in the news release.
According to earlier reports, the pilots were using night-vision goggles during the training exercise and not during a medical evacuation drill.
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Three of the soldiers killed in the crash were promoted posthumously to the next higher grade: Sgt. Emilie Marie Eve Bolanos, 23, of Austin, Texas; Chief Warrant Officer 3 Zachary Esparza, 36, of Jackson, Missouri; and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Aaron Healy, 32, of Cape Coral, Florida.
Warrant Officer 1 Jeffery Barnes, 33, of Milton, Florida; Sgt. Isaacjohn Gayo, 27, of Los Angeles, California; Staff Sgt. Joshua C. Gore, 25, of Morehead City, North Carolina; Staff Sgt. Taylor Mitchell, 30, of Mountain Brook, Alabama; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Rusten Smith, 32, of Rolla, Missouri; and Sgt. David Solinas Jr., 23, of Oradell, New Jersey, were also killed, according to the Army,
The soldiers’ remains have been transported to Dover Air Force Base.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.
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