LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The nine service members who died in a crash involving two U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters ranged in age from 23 to 36 and were from seven states, the military said Friday, as it released the identities of the soldiers and an investigative team continued its probe of the accident.
A military news release said the service members came from Alabama, California, Florida, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina and Texas.
"This is a time of great sadness for the 101st Airborne Division. The loss of these Soldiers will reverberate through our formations for years to come," said Maj. Gen. JP McGee, commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and Fort Campbell.
Two HH-60 Black Hawk medical evacuation helicopters crashed near Fort Campbell on Wednesday night in southwest Kentucky during a training exercise, killing all nine soldiers aboard the two aircraft. The crash occurred in Trigg County, Ky., about 30 miles northwest of the Army post that is home to the 101st Airborne Division.
A special military investigative team was on the scene Friday but rain and wind have slowed the early work, Army officials said.
The two Black Hawks were flying together during a training exercise at night and the pilots were using night-vision goggles, Army officials said. The accident occurred during flying and not during the course of a medical evacuation drill, said Brig. Gen. John Lubas, the 101st Airborne deputy commander.
The helicopters carried flight data recorders, similar to the black boxes that investigators use to analyze crashes involving passenger planes. Officials are hoping the devices on board the helicopters yield some information about the cause of Wednesday's crash.
The Army identified the soldiers as: Warrant Officer 1 Jeffery Barnes, 33, of Milton, Fla.; Cpl. Emilie Marie Eve Bolanos, 23, of Austin, Texas; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Zachary Esparza, 36, of Jackson, Mo.; Sgt. Isaacjohn Gayo, 27, of Los Angeles; Staff Sgt. Joshua C. Gore, 25, of Morehead City, N.C.; Warrant Officer 1 Aaron Healy, 32, of Cape Coral, Fla.; Staff Sgt. Taylor Mitchell, 30, of Mountain Brook, Ala.; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Rusten Smith, 32, of Rolla, Mo.; and Sgt. David Solinas Jr., 23, of Oradell, N.J.
The four soldiers piloting the two Black Hawks were Esparza, Smith, Barnes and Healy, according to the Army.
Dave Busby, who taught Smith in middle school, was among several of Smith's childhood teachers and classmates who posted tributes on Facebook after learning of his death.
"What a great kid. What a tragedy," Busby said in a phone interview Friday from his home in St. James, Mo., the small town where Smith grew up. "I'll be honest I wept -- what a shame."
Even as a teen, Smith was ambitious, forward-looking and perceptive, Busby said: "You could tell he was going places."
Gore's father, Tim Gore, told the Goldsboro News-Argus that his son leaves behind a wife who's pregnant. Gore, a pastor in Wayne County, said that his son, who was known to family as Caleb, was an infant when the family moved to North Carolina and remained in the state until he joined the Army after graduating high school.
"His passion was search and rescue, and if you were wounded on the battlefield, Caleb coming out of that helicopter would be the most beautiful thing you would ever see," Gore told the newspaper. "He was kind, compassionate, and a gentle giant because he was built like a tank."
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear on Friday ordered flags at all state buildings to be lowered to half-staff from sunrise today until sunset on Monday in honor of the soldiers.
Over the past 10 years, the Army's Black Hawk helicopter has been involved in 40 Class A mishaps, which are incidents that involve either a fatality or more than $2.5 million in damage. There were 44 personnel killed in those incidents.
Information for this article was contributed by Rhonda Shafner, Lolita Baldor, Lea Skene and Beatrice Dupuy of The Associated Press.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, center, is seen as military officials hold a news conference in Fort Campbell, Ky., Thursday March 30, 2023, to discuss a fatal helicopter crash. Nine people were killed in a crash involving two Army Black Hawk helicopters conducting a nighttime training exercise in Kentucky, a military spokesperson said. (AP Photo/Sharon Johnson)
Military officials hold a news conference in Fort Campbell, KY, on Thursday March 30, 2023, to discuss a fatal helicopter crash. Nine people were killed in a crash involving two Army Black Hawk helicopters conducting a nighttime training exercise in Kentucky, a military spokesperson said. (AP Photo/Sharon Johnson)