FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — Nine people were killed in a crash involving two Army Black Hawk medical evacuation helicopters conducting a nighttime training exercise in Kentucky.
A spokesperson for Fort Campbell said the deaths happened Wednesday night in southwestern Kentucky during a 'routine' training mission where the two aircraft flew side by side while the crew wore night vision goggles.
Officials said the helicopters crashed in a field near a residential area with no injuries on the ground.
Gov. Andy Beshear expressed his condolences to the families, adding the state would do everything it can to support them.
“We’re going to do what we always do. We’re going to wrap our arms around these families, and we’re going to be there with them, not just for the days, but the weeks and the months and the years to come," he said.
On Friday, the 101st Airborne Division identified the nine soldiers killed in the helicopter crash.
PHOTOS: 9 service members killed in Kentucky Army helicopter crash
The crash remains under investigation by a team from Fort Rucker in Alabama. They plan to analyze the aircraft's black box-like equipment for more information.
“We're hopeful that when we get the team from Fort Rucker here, and they're able to pull some of the data out of the onboard computers, that we'll have a better understanding of exactly what happened," said Gen. John Lubas, Deputy Commander of the 101st Airborne Division. "I think in a short time, we will have a much better understanding of what may have contributed to this accident."
'A huge glow like a fireball'
Nick Tomaszewski, who lives about a mile from where the crash occurred, said he saw two helicopters flying over his house moments before the crash.
“For whatever reason, last night my wife and I were sitting there looking out on the back deck and I said 'Wow, those two helicopters look low and they look kind of close to one another tonight,’” he said.
The helicopters flew over and looped back around and moments later “we saw what looked like a firework went off in the sky.”
“All of the lights in their helicopter went out. It was like they just poofed ... and then we saw a huge glow like a fireball,” Tomaszewski said.
Flyovers for training exercises happen almost daily and the helicopters typically fly low but not so close together, he said.
“There were two back-to-back. We typically see one and then see another one a few minutes later, and we just saw two of them flying together last night,” he said.
Others in Cadiz, Kentucky -- like Brett Greene and his mother-in-law -- said they heard what sounded like thunder, followed by sirens.
“It is tragic because I may have known some of these guys, that’s the sad part about it. I don’t know," Greene said. "Pray for our military and try to appreciate what they do.”
Greene, a former private pilot himself and father of two kids who served is just like so many in the neighborhood who are accustomed to aircraft making rounds hundreds of feet above their homes.
They also understand the risk that soldiers take to do this training.
"Anybody that’s flown in these helicopters for a long period of time, at some point in time, there’s a good chance they may be involved in some sort of crash," Greene said. "They understand the risk. It’s just in this case, I’m not really sure what really happened."
These Black Hawk variants were medical evacuation aircraft, but Gen. Lubas said things went wrong during flight, not during evacuation drills.
So while the timeline for answers is unclear right now, officials say the biggest priority is to let the affected families know they have everyone's support.
"I think in a short time, we will have a much better understanding of what may have contributed to this accident," Lubas said.
Names haven't been revealed yet, as the 101st Airborne Division works to notify the soldiers’ families, some of whom we’re told are currently out of the country.
Army officials were asked when the last time a severe crash like this had happened before, but they didn't make that information immediately available.
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