Black Hawk helicopter is consumed by flames after crashing on Alabama highway ‘killing all service personnel onboard’
- A UH-60 Black Hawk Military helicopter has crashed on an Alabama Highway
- The accident happened just before 3pm on Wednesday – no cars were hit
- Footage from the scene showed thick, black smoke billowing from the crash site
A UH-60 Black Hawk military helicopter crashed in a fireball on an Alabama Highway leaving no survivors.
The aircraft went down just before 3pm in the median of Highway 53, near Burwell Road, in the town of Harvest about a half hour north-west of Huntsville.
Footage from the scene showed thick, black smoke billowing from the crash site. The fire was quickly extinguished.
Huntsville Emergency Medical Services said there were no survivors. Its unclear where the chopper in question was stationed, who was on board, and how many people died.
The Madison County Sheriff’s Office said the deadly crash is likely to cause ‘heavy delays’ and have asked motorists to find alternate routes due to a highway closure.
A Black Hawk military helicopter has left ‘no survivors’ after plummeting from the air and bursting into a ball of fire on an Alabama Highway on Wednesday afternoon
For the US Military, the Army is the primary user of the Black Hawk helicopter with about 1,600–1,700 of different variants in use. Here a similar helicopter is pictured flying
Redstone Arsenal is a United States Army post and a census-designated place adjacent to Huntsville in Madison County.
Leaders from the posting released a statement on Facebook stating they are aware of the incident.
‘Redstone Arsenal leaders are aware of reports of a helicopter incident near Highway 53 in Huntsville,’ the statement said.
‘First responders are on scene, and Redstone Arsenal is in full support of local authorities in their active investigation.
‘Initial investigations have determined that the incident is not connected to Redstone Arsenal assets, and we will continue to support community authorities as the situation develops.’
Video footage of the incident which took place at about 3pm on Wednesday show the helicopter crashing onto the Highway
Its unclear where the chopper in question was stationed, who was on board, and how many people died. While bystanders saw large plumes of black smoke billowing from the site
Several emergency crews responded to the military helicopter crash near Highway 53 and Burwell Road. Motorists have been urged to take alternate routes due to a road closure
Alabama Highway 53 south to Jeff Road remains closed to traffic, as well as between Douglas Road and Alabama 53, according to MCSO.
For the US Military, the Army is the primary user of the Black Hawk helicopter with about 1,600–1,700 of different variants in use.
The Navy has roughly 750 Black Hawk variants (mostly SH-60 or MH-60 Seahawks) while the Air Force has a little over 100 HH-60 Pave Hawks.
The Coast Guard has around 40 HH-65 Pave Hawks and the Marine Corps has 8 VH-60 White Hawk.
According to a Military.com: ‘The basic crew complement for the UH-60A is three: pilot, co-pilot and crew chief.’
‘The A model was designed to carry 11 combat troops in addition to a crew of three.’
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