Birds blamed for US chopper crash killing 4

LONDON: A flock of geese slammed into the windscreen of an HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter, disabling the pilot and co-pilot and leading to the crash that killed four US Air Force crew members, US investigators said Wednesday.
The military helicopter, US Air Force HH-60 Pave Hawk, based at Lakenheath airbase, crashed over a nature reserve in in Norfolk, on the eastern coast of England, while on a training mission.
The helicopter, which crashed during a nighttime rescue training mission, was flying over grass-covered marshland near Cley next the Sea and the investigation concluded Wednesday that the birds were likely startled by the noise.
The US Air Force identified the victims as Capt. Christopher S. Stover and Capt. Sean M. Ruane, who were piloting the plane, and Tech. Sgt. Dale E. Mathews, and SSgt Afton M. Ponce.
The Pave Hawk copter was assigned to the 48th Fighter Wing and based at the Royal Air Force station in Lakenheath.
As the helicopters approached, a flock of geese flew off from the reserve in Cley-next-the-Sea, probably startled by the noise, the military investigators’ report said.
At least three birds crashed through the windscreen into the cockpit, knocking the pilot, co-pilot and aerial gunner unconscious, said a statement from the Accident Investigation Board, issued by US Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa.
One of the geese also disabled some of the flight controls of the chopper, whose crew were practicing a night-time rescue of a downed F-16 pilot at the time of the crash.
“With the mishap pilot and mishap co-pilot unconscious and the trim and flight path stabilization disabled, the MA’s (mishap aircraft’s) cyclic stick, which controls pitch and roll of the aircraft, was free to move randomly,” the statement said.