Members of SEAL Team 6 killed in crash in Afghanistan

NewsChannel 3 has confirmed an Associated Press report that most, if not all, of the Navy SEALs who died in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan late last night belong to locally based SEAL Team Six, formally known as Naval Special Warfare Development Group, or DEV GRU. They are based in Dam Neck.

That is the same team that successfully tracked and killed Osama bin Laden in May.

The crash is the biggest single loss of SEAL life since World War II. A similar crash in 2005 that killed 16 SEALS, including several from Virginia Beach, was the deadliest such incident until today.
The Associated Press reports the SEALs, along with a SEAL dog, members of the Air Force and the U.S. and Afghan armies, were participating in a raid of a house occupied by Taliban fighters.
At some point, the Chinook helicopter carrying 31 people including a civilian interpreter, crashed. All onboard died. A Taliban spokesman said insurgents shot down the helicopter with a rocket-propelled grenade. U.S. officials have not yet confirmed that, although some did say the helicopter went down during a firefight.

President Barack Obama said Saturday that the deaths of Americans in the crash are a reminder of the "extraordinary" price the U.S. military is paying in the decade-long Afghan war.

U.S. officials believe that none of those who died in the crash had participated in the bin Laden raid, although they were from the same unit that carried out that mission, two officials told The Associated Press. They spoke about matters of military security on condition of anonymity.

Obama, who learned of the incident at Camp David, issued a statement saying his thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those who perished. The White House had no comment about the details of who died or what happened.

Their deaths are a reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices made by the men and women of our military and their families, including all who have served in Afghanistan," the president said. "We will draw inspiration from their lives, and continue the work of securing our country and standing up for the values that they embodied."

Obama said he also mourned the loss of seven Afghans "who died alongside our troops in pursuit of a more peaceful and hopeful future for their country."

National security adviser Tom Donilon first notified Obama of the incident shortly after 8 p.m. EDT Friday. The president spoke again to Donilon later Friday night and received a paper briefing both that evening and Saturday morning.

The Secretary of Defense released the following statement on the crash Saturday morning:

"I am deeply saddened by the loss of many outstanding Americans in uniform and of their Afghan counterparts earlier today in Afghanistan. Their courage was exemplary, as was their determination to make this a safer world for their countries and for their fellow citizens. We will stay the course to complete that mission, for which they and all who have served and lost their lives in Afghanistan have made the ultimate sacrifice. They and their families are in my thoughts, in my prayers and in my heart."

Source;  http://www.wtkr.com/news/wtkr-seal-crash-update,0,772662.story?fe

Medical Helicopter Crashes In Arizona

(Tucson, Arizona) Three people were killed when a medical evacuation helicopter crashed on Tucson's north side Wednesday afternoon.

Killed in the crash were the pilot, flight nurse and paramedic, said Air Methods, the Colorado-based company that operated the LifeNet medical helicopter. There were no patients aboard the aircraft, the company said.

The AS350 B3 Eurocopter, which was based in Douglas, crashed into a fence in front of a house on North Park Avenue just south of East Glenn Street and burst into flames. A witness said the pilot appeared to manuever the stricken helicopter away from the home.

Authorities earlier said that one person was killed and two were critically injured in the crash. Air Methods confirmed at about 5:30 p.m. that all three aboard had died.

"This is a sad day for all of us at Air Methods and we extend our heartfelt sympathy to the family and friends of our employees who perished while on duty," said Aaron Todd, chief executive officer of Air Methods Corp.

The helicopter's pilot was in contact with the control tower at Tucson International Airport at the time of the crash, but there was no indication of a problem, said Lynn Lunsford, an FAA spokesman.

The aircraft was traveling from Marana to Douglas at the time, but was not transporting a patient, Lunsford said. It crashed about 1:45 p.m.

Rotors stopped

Eyewitness Ricardo Carrasco said the helicopter's rotors stopped working and it started plummeting toward the ground.

He said the pilot managed to steer the chopper away from the house.

"If he (the pilot) hadn't turned around he'd have hit the house," said Carrasco, who ran toward the helicopter after it crashed but wasn't able to get close because of a "a wall of flames."

He and bystanders helped evacuate people in the neighborhood. There are no reports of injuries to residents or bystanders.

"One of the employees heard a loud boom, but he didn't know what it was and he went back to working on a car," said Tyler Edwards, 34, a service advisor at Stuttgart Autohaus, 614 E. Glenn St.

"Two people walked in who said they saw the craft go down. It appeared it had a malfunction and they saw it go down and then there was a lot of black smoke," said Edwards of the husband and wife who walked into the shop that repairs Volkswagens and Audis.

He said not long after the incident police squad cars, motorcycle officers, paramedics and fire engines began "flying down the street."

Officers began closing down the street at North First Avenue and East Glenn Street toward the east, Edwards said. Traffic began piling up in the area but motorists remained patient, he said.

House shook, flames intense

John Townsend, 74, who lives in the house where the helicopter crashed into the fence said he heard a loud noise shortly before 2 p.m. and then the house shook. He said he went into the back yard and saw smoke and flames.

Immediately after the crash Townsend said he didn’t realize it was a helicopter. He said he grabbed a garden house to try to put out the flames, but the fire and smoke were too intense and he went back inside.

Townsend said a neighbor banged on his front door and told him to get out of the house.

The FAA is sending inspectors to the crash site. The agency will conduct the investigation along with the National Transportation Safety Board.

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