WASHINGTON — Army National Guard Black Hawk helicopters will keep flying despite a string of crashes and strain on the fleet, the service told McClatchy, amid concerns from some lawmakers and defense experts that doing so could put additional lives at risk.
Three crashes in just over a year, including one last week of an Army Idaho National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk “have claimed the lives of nine members of our National Guard,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., wrote to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in a request to further investigate the causes. One of the crashes involved a New York National Guard crew, and together the accidents raise “additional questions we urgently need answered,” she said.
For now, the Army is going to keep its Black Hawks flying, even as it acknowledges that increased strain on the force and concerns that upcoming budget pressures could make flying more dangerous for its air crews.
