FL Soldiers Among 9 Dead In Kentucky Helicopter Crash, Army Says

FORT CAMPBELL, KY — Two Florida soldiers were among nine killed when two helicopters crashed during a planned training exercise near Kentucky's Fort Campbell on Wednesday, according to U.S. Army officials.

Warrant Officers 1 Jeffery Barnes, 33, of Milton, and Aaron Healy, 32, of Cape Coral, died when two 101st Airborne Division air assault helicopters went down during a "routine training mission" around 10 p.m., U.S. Army Fort Campbell said.

Barnes, Healy and the other crew members were flying HH60 Blackhawk helicopters, according to officials.

The other soldiers killed were:

• Cpl. Emilie Marie Eve Bolanos, 23, of Austin, Texas.
• Chief Warrant Officer 2 Zachary Esparza, 36, of Jackson, Missouri.
• Sgt. Isaacjohn Gayo, 27, of Los Angeles, California.
• Staff Sgt. Joshua C. Gore, 25, of Morehead City, North Carolina.
• Staff Sgt. Taylor Mitchell, 30, of Mountain Brook, Alabama.
• Chief Warrant Officer 2 Rusten Smith, 32, of Rolla, Missouri.
• Sgt. David Solinas Jr., 23, of Oradell, New Jersey.

“This is a time of great sadness for the 101st Airborne Division," Maj. Gen. JP McGee, commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division and Fort Campbell, said in a statement. "The loss of these soldiers will reverberate through our formations for years to come. Now is the time for grieving and healing. The whole division and this community stand behind the families and friends of our fallen soldiers."

During a Thursday news conference, Brigadier General John Lubas, 101st Airborne Division deputy commander, said that the helicopters crashed in an open field next to a residential area.

The crash occurred in Trigg County, about 30 miles northwest of the Army post that houses the 101st Airborne Division.

An Army aviation safety team from Fort Rucker, Alabama, is conducting an investigation into the accident, officials said.

Black Hawk helicopters have something similar to the black boxes on passenger planes, which records the performance of aircraft in flight and are used by investigators to analyze crashes. Officials said they are hoping the device yields some information about the cause of the crash.

The crash was the deadliest training incident for the Army since March 2015, when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed into the water off the Florida coast in dense fog, Jimmie Cummings, spokesperson for the Army Combat Readiness Center at Fort Rucker, told The Associated Press. Four soldiers from the Louisiana Army National Guard and seven Marine special operations forces were killed.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.