Two Injured, One Killed in Army Nightstalker Helicopter Crash

An Army Nightstalker Helicopter crash landed at Hunter Airfield in Savannah Georgia late Wednesday evening. This news comes after the announcement of the Navy jet crash which also took place on Wednesday.

Two soldiers were injured and another was killed during a “hard landing” Wednesday night. The Huffington Post stated that the helicopter came own around 11:30 pm. Army Major Allen Hill, a spokesman for the crew’s aviation unit stated that the crash landing happened on or near the airstrip at the base in coastal Georgia. The Army Nighstalker reportedly went down not too far away from the main gate of Hunter Army Airfield, which, according the Huffington Post, shares Savannah’s south side with its main shopping centers and suburban neighborhoods.

The three-man crew was reportedly assigned to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, which trains soldiers to fly helicopters behind enemy lines under the cover of darkness. These soldiers are nicknamed “Nightstalkers” according to ABC News. Nightstalker pilots are known for being some of the most highly skilled helicopter pilots in the army. ABC News stated that some of the Nightstalker pilots were involved in the rain on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan.

Hill told reporters that the Nightstalker helicopter was returning from a training flight and was on final approach to land when the hard landing took place. “The pilot was in control of the aircraft until it hit the ground and it did roll on its side.” Hill stated that there is a difference between a “hard landing” and a crash.

“The difference is in a hard landing the pilot had more control, as opposed to a crash which would have been something more severe,” Hill said.

The Inquisitr recently reported on a Navy jet that crashed off of the coast of Virginia. In that case, the unnamed pilot lost control of the jet, and it crashed into the Atlantic waters about 50 miles off Virginia beach. In that event, Commander Mike Kafka, a spokesman for Navel Air Forces Atlantic, stated that the F/A-18E Super Hornet crashed into the Atlantic around 2:35 pm Wednesday afternoon. The pilot of the Navy jet had ejected himself from the jet, and was later rescued from the ocean by a fisherman.

One week ago, The Inquisitr also covered the US Helicopter that crashed in Norfolk, England. In that event, the crash killed all four crew members on board. The Helicopter reportedly crashed while on a low-flying training exercise off the northern coast of Norfolk.

The identities of the soldiers involved in the Army Nightstalker helicopter crash have not been released, and officials say they will not be released until after their families have been notified. Hill told reporters that, besides the one solider who was pronounced dead, he does not know the current conditions of the two injured.

[Image by The US Army via Flicker]