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Army IDs helicopter crash victims, halts flights, begins investigation

An Army AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter assigned to 1st Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment Attack Reconnaissance Battalion lands at Ladd Airfield on Fort Wainwright in January 2019. Three 11th Airborne Division soldiers died Thursday when two Apaches collided in mid-air near Healy. One soldier remains hospitalized at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital in fair condition.
Cameron Roxberry/U.S. Army
An Army AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter assigned to 1st Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment Attack Reconnaissance Battalion lands at Ladd Airfield on Fort Wainwright in January 2019. Three 11th Airborne Division soldiers died Thursday when two Apaches collided in mid-air near Healy. One soldier remains hospitalized at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital in fair condition.

Injured soldier in stable condition at Fairbanks hospital; FAA closes crash site airspace; investigation begins

Army officials have identified the three soldiers who died Thursday after the two helicopters they were flying collided in mid-air near Healy.

The victims are 39-year-old Chief Warrant Officer 3 Christopher Eramo, of Oneonta, N.Y.; 28-year-old Chief Warrant Officer 2 Kyle McKenna, of Colorado Springs, Colo.; and 32-year-old Chief Warrant Officer Stewart Wayment, of North Logan, Utah.

An AH-64D Apache like these crashed at the Talkeetna Airport as the pilot was taking off after refueling. Two injured soldiers with Fort Wainwright’s 25th Attack Battalion were treated and released from an area hospital.
DVIDS/2019 file photo
Two AH-64D Apache like these crashed collided in mid-air Thursday as they were returning from training at the Donnelly Training Area near Fort Greely.

A fourth soldier who was injured in the crash and transported to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital is still undergoing treatment there. A news release issued Saturday by the 11th Airborne Division says the servicemember was in stable condition. But Army officials haven’t yet released the soldier’s name.

11th Airborne spokesperson John Pennell said the soldiers were flying two AH-64 Apache helicopters with the Fort Wainwright-based 1st Attack Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment. He said the Apaches were returning Thursday afternoon from a training mission in the Donnelly Training Area near Fort Greely when they collided and crashed about 50 miles east of Healy.

“The terrain is extremely rugged, mountainous, deep snow, heavily forested,” he said. “It required helicopter access with hoists, to get in there.”

Pennell said Friday that there wasn’t much information available yet about weather or other factors that may have contributed to the collision. But he said investigators were scheduled to fly in Saturday to the crash site.

“There is a safety investigation that will be ongoing by the Army’s Combat Readiness Center out of Ft. Novosel, in Alabama,” he said, “… and until they have made their determination, there’s just really no way that I can give you any kind of speculation.”

The Federal Aviation Administration has restricted air traffic within 25 nautical miles of the crash site through May 4th, to facilitate the investigation.

Thursday’s crash is the second this year involving 11th Airborne Apache helicopters in Alaska. In February, two soldiers with the 11th Attack Battalion were injured when the Apache they were in crashed soon after takeoff from the Talkeetna Airport, where they’d stopped to refuel on the way back from Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson.

In March, nine soldiers were killed in Kentucky when the Blackhawk helicopter they were in crashed during a routine nighttime training exercise.

In response to the crashes, the Army on Friday grounded all its aviation units and ordered them to conduct training this week before they’d be allowed to fly again.

KUAC senior reporter/producer Dan Bross contributed to this story.

Tim Ellis has been working as a KUAC reporter/producer since 2010. He has more than 30 years experience in broadcast, print and online journalism.