An Army MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) crashed Wednesday night near Joint Base Lewis-McChord, military officials said.
The helicopter went down around 9 p.m. in a rural area outside the installation. The aircraft was carrying four soldiers at the time of the crash. The conditions of the passengers have not been disclosed.
On Thursday, deputies with the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office located the crash site in the Summit Lake area, the sheriff’s office announced on Facebook post.
“We have been advised that the military lost contact with a helicopter in the area, and we are working closely with JBLM [Joint Base Lewis-McChord] to deploy any resources needed to assist,” the post says.
Col. Allie Scott, an Army Special Operations Command spokesperson, said the aircraft crashed in “hard to reach” terrain. The command said the cause of the crash is now under investigation.
The 160th SOAR, known as the “Night Stalkers,” provides aviation support for special operations forces.
The unit, with battalions at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, Savannah, Georgia, and JBLM, is known for flying Navy SEALs into Pakistan in 2011 during the mission that killed Osama bin Laden.
The incident comes after a series of Army helicopter crashes that prompted stand downs and safety reviews.
Earlier this year, a Black Hawk helicopter from Fort Belvoir, Virginia, collided with an American Airlines flight near Reagan National Airport, killing three Army pilots and 64 passengers. Investigators attributed the crash to overworked air traffic controllers and helicopter system failures.
Please clarify that there were 4 American Airlines employees (2 pilots and 2 flight attendants) along with 60 passengers.