Military

New York National Guard Black Hawk Crash Kills 3

January 21, 2021Nolan Peterson
New York National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crash, Lightning Academy 25th Infantry Division soldiers deploy life-size training aids (Rescue Randys) out of a UH-60 Black Hawk to simulate a real-world injury and medevac with Dustoff 3rd Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, Nov. 24, 2020. US Army photo by Sgt. Sarah D. Sangster, courtesy of DVIDS.

Lightning Academy, 25th Infantry Division Soldiers deployed life size training aids (Rescue Randys) out of an UH-60 Blackhawk from 2nd Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment to simulate a real world injury and then simulated a real world MEDEVAC with Dustoff 3rd Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Sarah D. Sangster via DVIDS.

A helicopter crash in upstate New York on Wednesday evening killed three National Guard soldiers.


The UH-60 Black Hawk medical evacuation helicopter was reportedly on a training exercise when it crashed at about 6:30 p.m. in a farm field near Mendon, New York, the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs reported. There were no survivors.


The helicopter belonged to C Company of the 1st Battalion, 171st General Support Aviation Battalion. The crash is under investigation with assistance from the Federal Aviation Administration.


Lightning Academy 25th Infantry Division soldiers deploy life-size training aids (Rescue Randys) out of a UH-60 Black Hawk to simulate a real-world injury and medevac with Dustoff 3rd Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, Nov. 24, 2020. Photo by Sgt. Sarah D. Sangster/US Army, courtesy of DVIDS.

“National Guard members are our citizen soldiers who voluntarily serve and protect both here and abroad, and I extend prayers and condolences from all New Yorkers to the family, loved ones and fellow soldiers of these honorable heroes,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a release.


Cuomo ordered that flags be flown at half-staff on Thursday at state buildings “in honor of and in tribute to these New Yorkers who dedicated their service to nation and state.”


More than 1,300 New York National Guard soldiers were in Washington to assist with Inauguration Day security. Altogether, New York Army and Air National Guard units comprise some 16,000 members. That force is currently tasked with the operation of COVID-19 vaccination and testing sites across New York.


The UH-60 Black Hawk dates back to 1972 and is the US military’s workhorse utility and air assault helicopter. The Black Hawk’s crew typically includes a pilot, copilot, and crew chief. The Army began converting Black Hawks for medical evacuation operations in 1981.


Last November, five US soldiers died in a UH-60 crash in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.



Nolan Peterson
Nolan Peterson
Nolan Peterson is a senior editor for Coffee or Die Magazine and the author of Why Soldiers Miss War. A former US Air Force special operations pilot and a veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Nolan is now a conflict journalist and author whose adventures have taken him to all seven continents. In addition to his memoirs, Nolan has published two fiction collections. He lives in Kyiv, Ukraine, with his wife, Lilya.
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