Operation Characterized as a "Routine Maintenance Test Flight"

The Army Times is reporting that two Army Helicopter pilots died Wednesday in a crash at Wheeler Army Airfield. The names of the pilots are being withheld pending notification of relatives.

The crash involved a two-seat OH-58D Kiowa helicopter (file photo, above) belonging to the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade. The helicopter crashed within the Wheeler perimeter in the airfield and hangar area. Col. Matthew Margotta, commander of U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii, Margotta characterized the incident as a “hard landing.” He told reporters at Wheeler that the helicopter was on “a routine maintenance test flight” and was in the process of landing when the incident occurred about 3:30 p.m.

“The pilot still had control of the helicopter when it landed,” Margotta said. The accident is under investigation by U.S. Army personnel.

The 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, with its 2,400 soldiers, is preparing for a fall deployment to Iraq and many of its members are returning from training at Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island and at the National Training Center in California.

FMI: www.army.mil