Helicopter Crashes In Colorado Killing All Four Onboard

By Bill Goldston (Update)

August 20, 2009, on Wednesday afternoon a U.S. Army Special Operations Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Leadville in the mountain range of Mount Massive, Colorado while conducting routine mountain and environmental training 85 miles southwest of Denver. All four occupants of the Black Hawk were killed in the crash. The Soldiers were assigned to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR), Airborne at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Names of all the Soldiers involved will not be released until 24 hours after next of kin notification is complete in accordance with current Department of Defense policy. The all four crew members next kin have been notified and the most recent fatality next of kin was notified at about 1 PM today. The cause of the crash is underway by the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center, Fort Rucker, Alabama.

Mount Massive (14,421 feet) is a fourteener in the Sawatch Range of Colorado. It is the second highest peak in Colorado and it is the third highest peak in the United States. It is located in Lake County, approximately 10 miles west-southwest of Leadville and 18 miles east of Aspen. It lies in the Mount Massive Wilderness, part of the San Isabel National Forest.

The UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-bladed, twin-engine, medium-lift utility helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted the S-70 design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System (UTTAS) competition in 1972. The Army designated the prototype as the YUH-60A and selected the Black Hawk as the winner of the program in 1976, after a fly-off competition with the Boeing Vertol YUH-61. The UH-60A entered service with the Army in 1979, to replace the UH-1 Iroquois as the Army's tactical transport helicopter. MH-60 Black Hawk is frequently used for rescue and medical evacuations, and an armed version is used for escort and fire support.