Three Idaho Army National Guard pilots died when their helicopter crashed in bad weather Tuesday night during a routine training mission, the Guard said on Wednesday.
The pilots were on a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter when it descended south of Lucky Peak, a park area about 10 miles east of Boise, around 8 pm Tuesday, the National Guard said in a statement. . The bodies were found on Wednesday and a recovery effort is underway.
Lt. Col. Nicole Washington, Guard aviation officer, told a news conference on Wednesday that the cause of the accident was not known, but that the weather was bad, with snow and a low fog roof that made it difficult to fly and subsequent efforts to search for victims.
The pilots, all experienced and two instructors, wore night vision goggles while flying over mountainous terrain in an area known as Three Point, said Colonel Washington.
“The weather started to get worse slowly. It can start to deteriorate very quickly ”inside, she said. “The snow was very heavy and the ceiling was falling.”
Each of the pilots flew thousands of hours in careers ranging from five to 15 years, said Colonel Washington. They did not send an emergency signal that they were in trouble, she said.
“No mayday. No emergency declaration, ”said Colonel Washington.
“This leaves a huge and indescribable void in our aviation community,” she added.
The cause of the accident is not known and will be investigated by Army aviation security officers, who will arrive in Boise on Thursday, the Guard said.
It was the second accident in two weeks when a National Guard team in a Black Hawk helicopter died in the United States. On January 20, a New York Army National Guard helicopter on a training mission crashed near Rochester, NY, killing three members of the Guard.
And in 2019, a Black Hawk helicopter carrying three members of the Army National Guard crashed in Minnesota during a maintenance test flight, killing the three crew members on board.
The helicopter’s last contact in Idaho was at 7:45 pm on Tuesday, said Col. Christopher Burt, state aviation officer for the Idaho Army National Guard. As soon as an emergency device on board the aircraft was activated, a team began emergency recovery work that included search and rescue teams in the air and on the ground, the Guard said.
An aircraft that initially tried to help in the search had to return because of the weather.
The crews found the aircraft and pilots at about 12:15 pm local time on Wednesday, the Guard said.
The names of those who died were not immediately released.
“This is a tremendous loss for the Idaho National Guard and our community,” said Major General Michael J. Garshak, Idaho’s assistant general and commander of the Idaho National Guard. “Our thoughts and prayers are with families and loved ones as we face this tragedy.”