Helicopters crashed in mountains in fine weather

FAIRBANKS, Alaska – Two US Army helicopters that crashed in Alaska last week, killing three soldiers, collided over a rugged, mountainous area and there were no weather or visibility problems at the time, an Army spokesman said Sunday.

The two AH-64 Apache helicopters were returning to Fort Wainwright from a firing 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.

A fourth soldier survived and remained hospitalized Sunday, said John Pennell, a spokesman for the US Army in Alaska.

Investigators planned to fly to the scene of the crash about 50 miles east of the small town of Healy Monday morning, Pennell said.

The army deployed aviation units on Friday to conduct further training following recent fatal accidents.

Two Black Hawk helicopters crashed in Kentucky last month during a routine night-time training exercise that killed nine Soldiers, and in February a Tennessee National Guard Black Hawk crashed in Alabama during a flight training mission, killing two crew members. Also in February, two soldiers were injured when an Apache helicopter rolled over after taking off from Talkeetna, Alaska.