Courtesy Photo | A UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter aircrew from Wheeler Army Airfield and a fireboat crew...... read more read more
HALEIWA HARBOR — As of Thursday, Aug. 17, the Army, along with teams from the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Navy, the Honolulu Fire Department, and the City and County of Honolulu’s Ocean Safety Division, continued its search on Thursday for five Soldiers in a UH-60 Black Hawk reported missing off Kaena Point on Tuesday night.
Some debris believed to have been from the helicopter was found about 5 miles off shore of Kaena Point on Wednesday, said Lt. Scott Carr, spokesperson for the Coast Guard’s 14th District in Honolulu.
The search area had expanded to 50 miles off shore of Kaena Point by Thursday, Carr said, adding that this expansion is normal given that ocean currents can move the debris field.
Officials have set up a “safety zone” around the search area, he said. It is centered about 2 miles northwest of Kaena Point and extends in a radius of approximately 5 nautical miles, according to the Coast Guard.
Unauthorized vessels are prohibited from entering the area.
Also, personnel from the Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center in Fort Rucker, Alabama, were on the way to Oahu on Thursday. The CRSC normally assists with incidents that may have an Army-wide impact, said Lt. Col. Curtis Kellogg, spokesman for the 25th Infantry Division.
Two of the missing Soldiers were pilots and three were aircrew personnel, said Kellogg. All were with the 25th ID’s 25th Combat Aviation Brigade.
Kellogg declined to release the names of the Soldiers, but said that the Army had contacted all of their family members and were keeping them informed of the situation.
“On behalf of our commander of the 25th ID, Maj. Gen. Christopher Cavoli, and on behalf of all the Soldiers and family members of the 25th ID, I’d like to express that our thoughts and prayers are with the families of these Soldiers at this difficult time,” he said. “We and everyone you see here involved in this search … is committed to this endeavor. As we do this work, those Soldiers and their families are on the forefront of our minds.”
The Soldiers were participating in a routine nighttime flying mission with a second UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter between Kaena Point and Dillingham Airfield, Kellogg said.
“One of our key competencies is to train at night, and that’s what this aircrew was doing,” he explained. “Flying at night and remaining competent in that skill set is something we need to do to accomplish our wartime mission.”
The second Black Hawk lost visual and radio contact with the first helicopter around 9:30 p.m., Tuesday, then did a flyover to try to re-establish contact, Kellogg said.
Personnel at Wheeler Army Airfield notified the Coast Guard Joint Rescue Command Center in Honolulu at 10:08 p.m., Tuesday, according to the Coast Guard. The Army, Coast Guard and U.S. Marines initiated a search and were joined by HFD, Ocean Safety and the Hawaii State Department of Land and Natural Resources.
“This is still an active search and rescue mission,” Kellogg said. “We are here to bring our Soldiers home.”
Officials urged the public not to handle any debris spotted in the water or washed ashore on local beaches. Instead, anyone who comes across debris they believe to be from the UH-60 Black Hawk should report it to the 25th CAB at 808-656-1080.
| Date Taken: | 08.17.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 08.18.2017 16:35 |
| Story ID: | 245312 |
| Location: | HALEIWA, HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 172 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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