Crashes have killed 28 U.S. National Guard helicopter crew members outside of combat over a decade because of operator errors — from overconfidence to not following standards — according to a review by Congress’s oversight agency.
The deaths of Army and Air Force guard members from 2012 through 2021 were the most serious toll from 298 helicopter accidents during noncombat flight operations in those years, according to the Government Accountability Office.
About 15% of the crashes resulted in death, permanent disability, extensive hospitalization, property damages of $500,000 or more or a destroyed helicopter, the GAO said in the report obtained by Bloomberg News before it was released later Wednesday.
The GAO recommended steps including creation of a database to track incidents and full implementation of post-crash recommendations. It said the Army, for example, hasn’t established a system “for tracking the status of accident investigation recommendations through implementation.”
Senator Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement that “these recommendations will save lives.” Schumer requested the study after three Guard members died in an upstate New York training mission in 2021 that investigators attributed to pilot error. “The Army and Air Force must act swiftly to implement the straightforward and achievable safety practices outlined in the GAO report,” he said.
Problems are exacerbated by shortages of maintenance personnel, Schumer said, “because pilots have less opportunities to fly and train when waiting for helicopters to be repaired.”
The risks in helicopter training were underscored last month when nine soldiers with the 101st Airborne Division died after two Black Hawk helicopters crashed into each other during a night training mission over Kentucky.
Far from the “weekend warriors” of an earlier era, the National Guard has been fully integrated into U.S. operational military planning since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, with its chief a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Guard units also perform federal and state missions including medical evacuations and disaster relief.
The National Guard said in a statement that it “prioritizes the safe operation” of its helicopter fleet “to ensure the safety of our aviators and the public” and welcomed “any study of our aviation processes that results in making them safer and improves our mission capability.”
