UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, hover over a Jalalabad Airfield landing zone in eastern Afghanistan, Sept. 16, 2015. (U.S. Army)
WASHINGTON — A soldier was killed and two others were injured Monday afternoon when the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter they were flying crashed at a golf course in Maryland, according to an Army news release.
The three crew members were conducting a routine training flight, the Army said. The Black Hawk is from the 12th Aviation Battalion stationed at Davison Airfield, Fort Belvoir in Virginia.
One of the injured crew members is listed in serious condition and the other is in critical condition at the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, the Army said. The names will be released upon notification of next-of-kin.
The cause of the crash is under investigation and a team from the Army Combat Readiness Center at Fort Rucker in Alabama will be at the site of the crash Tuesday, the Army said.
"We are deeply saddened by this loss within our community," said Maj. Gen. Bradley A. Becker, the commander of Joint Force Headquarters National Capital Region and the Army Military District of Washington. "Our condolences go out to the families and friends affected by this tragedy, and our team is focused on supporting them during this difficult time."
The helicopter crashed at about 1:37 p.m., roughly 55 miles southeast of Washington, D.C., at Breton Bay Golf and Country Club in Leonardtown, the Army said.
Kevin Bowen, who works in the pro shop at the club, said he saw the helicopter "flying kind of low" and then "saw it spinning" before it went down between the third and fourth holes of the golf course, The Associated Press reported.
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