An Air Force UH-1N Huey helicopter crashed on a routine training flight from Kirtland AFB, N.M. The aircrew, assigned to the base’s 58th Special Operations Wing, escaped the wreckage unscathed before flames consumed the helicopter just before noon local time on Wednesday, reported KRQE News in Albuquerque. The helicopter impacted a slope on Hidden Mountain, roughly 25 miles southwest of Kirtland, due west of Los Lunas, N.M. According to KRQE’s report, two instructor pilots, a flight engineer instructor, and student were conducting combat search and rescue training at the time of the crash. The Air Force is convening a board of inquiry to investigate the cause of the mishap.
An F-16 assigned to the New Jersey Air National Guard’s 119th Fighter Squadron returned to its home base in Atlantic City on Dec. 5 with a splash of color dedicated to a World War II fighter ace.