Army says helicopters crashed in mountains, fair weather
FILE IMAGE - An AH-64 Apache attack helicopter conducts flight operations at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., Jan, 6, 2017. (U.S. Air Force photo/Heide Couch)
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) - Two U.S. Army helicopters that crashed last week in Alaska, killing three soldiers, collided over a rugged, mountainous area, and there were no weather issues or visibility problems at the time, an Army spokesperson said Sunday.
The two AH-64 Apache helicopters were returning to Fort Wainwright from an aerial gunnery range southeast of Fairbanks when they collided.
Killed were Chief Warrant Officer 3 Christopher Robert Eramo, 39, of Oneonta, New York; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Kyle D. McKenna, 28, of Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Warrant Officer 1 Stewart Duane Wayment, 32, of North Logan, Utah.
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A fourth soldier survived and remained hospitalized Sunday, said John Pennell, a spokesperson for the U.S. Army Alaska.
Investigators planned to fly on Monday morning to the accident scene about 50 miles (80 kilometers) east of the small town of Healy, Pennell said.