TheDenverChannel.com








Denver News
Share
E-Mail News Alerts
Get breaking news and daily headlines.
Browse all e-mail newsletters
Related To Story

Military Talks Cleanup Efforts At Mt. Massive Crash Site

Black Hawk Crash On Mount Massive Killed 4

POSTED: 7:21 am MDT July 29, 2010
UPDATED: 7:28 am MDT July 29, 2010

Military officials will discuss cleanup efforts at the site of a Black Hawk helicopter crash last year that killed four crew members on Colorado's Mount Massive.

Officials from Fort Carson and the U.S. Army Special Operations Command said debris was recently discovered where the crash happened in August and on Wednesday morning they will talk about the cleanup operation.

The four crew members who died in the crash were from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment from Fort Campbell, Ky. They were on a training mission and were trying to land near the summit of the mountain.

Army officials later said the helicopter didn't have enough power for a high-altitude landing it was attempting near the summit of Mount Massive during a training mission. Mount Massive reaches a height of 14,421 feet, near Leadville. Mount Elbert, Colorado's highest peak, is only 12 feet higher.

The chopper crashed at 14,200 feet. The Army said the crew's flight plan didn't take into account the helicopter's performance limits at that altitude. No mechanical failures were identified.

Two soldiers from the chopper were alive when a group of college students who had been building a hiking trail nearby reached them, but the pair were too badly injured to survive.

One of the soldiers died soon after the trail-building crew reached the crash site. But another soldier remained alive until a helicopter ambulance arrived to help, officials said. That soldier died after the medical helicopter -- bound for a Denver hospital -- was rerouted to a nearer Breckenridge medical center when his condition worsened. He died shortly after arriving at the medical center.

The MH-60 Black Hawk was from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment -- also known as the "Night Stalkers" -- at Fort Campbell, Ky. Its crew members were experienced aviators and combat veterans with at least 10 deployments each.

The following are comments from our users. Opinions expressed are neither created nor endorsed by TheDenverChannel.com. By posting a comment you agree to accept our Terms of Use. Comments are moderated by the community. To report an offensive or otherwise inappropriate comment, click the "Flag" link that appears beneath that comment. Comments that are flagged by a set number of users will be automatically removed.

E - News Registration
 7 a.m. News
9 a.m. News
Noon News
4 p.m. News
8 p.m. News
Breaking News Alerts
My Report Network
National Breaking News

Advertiser Links


Win 4 tickets to a Colorado Eagles game! Like Us On Facebook! Winners announced Sunday on 7NEWS at 10 p.m.

Advertiser Links