Tragic Aviation Collision Claims Lives of Three U.S. Army Soldiers in Alaskan Mountain Pass

Earlier this year in a rough mountainous area of Alaska, three brave U.S. Army men were killed in a Helicopter crash (Photo: MilitaryTimes)

Tragic Aviation Collision Claims Lives of Three U.S. Army Soldiers

A terrible event happened earlier this year in a rough mountainous area of Alaska, and three brave U.S. Army men were killed. A military probe report that was just released says that an Army helicopter flying through a mountain pass crashed into another helicopter, killing all on board. The US Army Combat Readiness Center released a report on Friday that gives more information about what happened in the tragedy near Healy, Alaska, on April 27.

The 14 planes that crashed were coming back from a training exercise. The helicopters were from the 1st Attack Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment at Fort Wainwright, which is near Fairbanks. The flight lead was making a planned right turn into a mountain pass when the terrible crash happened. The crash happened about 48 minutes into the trip from Donnelly Training Area to Fort Wainwright.

The investigation report said that as the planes went through the mountain pass, they slowed down, which is what caused the two AH-64D Apache helicopters to crash into each other. During this terrible event, both planes were destroyed, and three troops were killed and a fourth was hurt. Their identities have not been released.

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Details of the Helicopter Collision in Alaskan Mountain Pass

Warrant Officer 1 Stewart Duane Wayment, 32, of North Logan, Utah; Chief Warrant Officer 3 Christopher Robert Eramo, 39, of Oneonta, New York; and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Kyle D. McKenna, 28, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, were called the soldiers who died according to reports. The soldiers were very skilled crew members, and they were each paired up on dangerous trips. Following other recent aviation accidents in the Army, this tragic event keeps the focus on the safety and well-being of military people.

Thirteen troops were killed when two Army Black Hawk medical evacuation helicopters crashed in Kentucky during a nighttime training exercise, just one month before the terrible accident. As a result of these terrible events, the Army temporarily halted flight units for training. It will continue to put safety and strict training standards for its employees first.

This heartbreaking event is a sobering reminder of what brave men and women in uniform have given up and how dedicated they are to their jobs, even when it puts them in danger.

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