An HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter deployed from the New York Air National Guard’s 106th Rescue Wing to Afghanistan crashed Jan. 16 near Kabul with no injuries to crew or passengers, reports the Long Island Newsday. A Jan. 16 release from US Forces-Afghanistan noted the crash was of a US Black Hawk helicopter, the Army’s UH-60 version of the Sikorsky helicopter, but the Newsday report quotes 106th RQW spokesperson Lt. Col. Mary Ann Cline, who confirmed it was an HH-60 from the Gabreski Airport-based 106th. The 106th RQW airmen were on a medical evacuation mission at the time of the incident.
Dozens of fighter jets gathered at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida last week to kick off one of the service’s biggest air combat exercises despite the government shutdown. More than 50 aircraft and 500 personnel are participating in Checkered Flag 26-1.
