Army identifies ALL NINE soldiers killed aboard two Black Hawk choppers that crashed over Kentucky

The nine service members who died in a crash involving two U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters ranged in age from 23 to 36 and were from seven states, the military said on Friday as it released their names on Friday.

The service members came from states across the country: Florida, Texas, Missouri, California, North Carolina, Alabama and New Jersey.

‘This is a time of great sadness for the 101st Airborne Division. The loss of these Soldiers will reverberate through our formations for years to come,’ said Maj. Gen. JP McGee, commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and Fort Campbell.

‘Now is the time for grieving and healing. The whole division and this community stand behind the families and friends of our fallen Soldiers.’

The fallen have been named as Warrant Officer 1 Jeffery Barnes, 33, of Milton, Florida, Cpl. Emilie Marie Eve Bolanos, 23, of Austin, Texas, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Zachary Esparza, 36, of Jackson, Missouri, Sgt. Isaacjohn Gayo, 27, of Los Angeles, California, Staff Sgt. Joshua C. Gore, 25, of Morehead City, North Carolina, Warrant Officer 1 Aaron Healy, 32, of Cape Coral, Florida, Staff Sgt. Taylor Mitchell, 30, of Mountain Brook, AlabamaChief Warrant Officer 2 Rusten Smith, 32, of Rolla, Missouri and Sgt. David Solinas Jr, 23, of Oradell, New Jersey.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaks to the press in regards to the Black Hawk helicopter crash 

The Two HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters crashed near Fort Campbell on Wednesday night in southwest Kentucky during a medical evacuation training exercise, killing all nine soldiers aboard the two aircrafts. 

The crash occurred in Trigg County, Kentucky, about 30 miles northwest of the Army post that is home to the 101st Airborne Division.

A special military investigative team was on the scene Friday but weather conditions have slowed the early work, Army officials said.

The team of about eight members from Fort Rucker, Alabama, arrived at the scene around 7pm on Thursday night but rain and wind have slowed their efforts, said Dawn Grimes, a public information officer at Fort Campbell.

‘The investigation is active but it has been hampered by weather,’ Grimes said Friday.

The two Black Hawks were flying together during a training exercise at night, Army officials said. The pilots were using night-vision goggles. 

The accident occurred during flying and not during the course of a medical evacuation drill, said Brig. Gen. John Lubas, the 101st Airborne deputy commander.

Emergency responders are seen near a site where two military helicopters crashed on Wednesday night during a routine training mission in Trigg County, in southwestern Kentucky

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, center, is seen as military officials hold a news conference in Fort Campbell. Nine soldiers were killed in a crash involving two Army Black Hawk helicopters

Brig. Gen. John Lubas addresses the press in regards to the Black Hawk helicopter crash that occurred early Thursday, March 30, 2023, outside of Fort Campbell in Christian County

The Black Hawk helicopters have something similar to the black boxes on passenger planes, which records the performance of aircrafts in flight and are used by investigators to analyze crashes. 

Officials said they are hoping that device yields some information about the cause of Wednesdays crash.

Warrant Officer 1 Jeffery Barnes enlisted in the Army from Milton, Florida in 2010 attending basic training in Fort Jackson, South Carolina and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Eustis, Virginia.

Barnes was subsequently assigned to 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade as a 15R, attack Helicopter Repairer in Savannah, Georgia. In February 2015 he was assigned as a squad leader in 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade at Camp Humphreys, Korea.

Barnes served as an Aeromedical Evacuation Pilot for the Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division since October of 2022 and was deployed to Afghanistan to   support Operation Enduring Freedom. 

Cpl. Emilie Marie Eve Bolanos was born in the Philippines. She enlisted in the Army from Austin, Texas in 2019 and attended basic training in Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

Bolanos was a UH-60 Helicopter Repairer and UH-60 Air Crewmember for the Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. In 2020 Bolanos she served for nine months in Germany. 

Warrant Officer 1 Jeffery Barnes had served as an Aeromedical Evacuation Pilot for the Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division since October of 2022 and was deployed to Afghanistan to support Operation Enduring Freedom

Cpl. Emilie Marie Eve Bolanos was a UH-60 Helicopter Repairer and UH-60 Air Crewmember for the Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. In 2020 Bolanos she served for nine months in Germany. She was born in the Philippines.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Zachary Esparza a was assigned to the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade in 2021 serving as an Instructor Pilot for the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division since October of that year

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Zachary Esparza enlisted in the Army from Jackson, Missouri in 2010. He attended basic training in Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

Esparza served in Okinawa, Japan from 2011 to 2012 before being assigned to the 4th Infantry Division as a Signal Support Specialist. 

In 2017, Esparza served as an Aeromedical Evacuation Pilot with the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade in Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii. He later served as a pilot in command in 2020 with Task Force Sinai in Egypt.

Esparza was assigned to the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade in 2021 serving as an Instructor Pilot for the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division since October of that year.

Sgt. Isaacjohn Gayo was also born in the Philippines and joined the Army in 2019 serving as a served as a UH-60 Helicopter Repairer, UH-60 Air Crewmember, and UH-60 Crew chief for the Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division since October of 2020

Sgt. Isaacjohn Gayo was also born in the Philippines and joined the Army in 2019.

He attended basic training in Fort Jackson, South Carolina and was subsequently assigned to Camp Humphreys, Korea in 2019 as a UH-60 Crew chief.

Gayo also served as a UH-60 Helicopter Repairer, UH-60 Air Crewmember, and UH-60 Crew chief for the Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division since October of 2020.  

Staff Sgt. Joshua C. Gore enlisted in the Army before starting high school. He became an airborne medic with search and rescue his passion. 

His father told WKRN that he was going to be a registered nurse soon and was taking leadership training.

Staff Sgt. Joshua C. Gore enlisted in the Army before starting high school. He became an airborne medic with search and rescue his passion

Warrant Officer 1 Aaron Healy was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division serving as an Aeromedical Evacuation Pilot for the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. He deployed to Afghanistan in 2011 to 2012 and in 2014 in support of the International Security Assistance Force

Warrant Officer 1 Aaron Healy attended basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. He was initially assigned to the 563rd Aviation Support Battalion at Fort Campbell, Kentucky before moving to Alaska and the 725th Support Battalion at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.

In 2019 he was assigned to the Wheel Maintenance Training Department in Fort Lee, Virginia. 

In 2021 Healy attended Warrant Officer Candidate School and Aviation Training at Fort Rucker, Alabama and was subsequently assigned to the 101st Airborne Division serving as an Aeromedical Evacuation Pilot for the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division since of 2022. 

Healy deployed to Afghanistan in 2011 to 2012 and in 2014 in support of the International Security Assistance Force.

Staff Sgt. Taylor Mitchell as assigned as a Flight Paramedic for the Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division

Staff Sgt. Taylor Mitchell completed his basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina and was assigned to 2nd Calvary Regiment, Vilseck, Germany as health care specialist.

In 2017, Mitchell attended Flight Paramedic School at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Mitchell subsequently served as a Flight Paramedic NCO 1st Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Riley, Kansas.

Since November 2020, Mitchell was assigned as a Flight Paramedic for the Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Rusten Smith was initially assigned to the 163rd Military Intelligence Battalion at Fort Hood, Texas, as a Human Intelligence Collector. 

Smith completed Warrant Officer Basic Course and Aviation Training at Fort Rucker, Alabama and was then assigned to the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division where he served as an Instructor Pilot.

Smith deployed twice to Afghanistan, first in 2013 in support of the International Security Assistance Force and again from 2018-2019 in support of Resolute Support Mission. 

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Rusten Smith was a Human Intelligence Collector He was deployed twice to Afghanistan, first in 2013 in support of the International Security Assistance Force and again from 2018-2019 in support of Resolute Support Mission

Sgt. David Solinas Jr completed basic training, at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Solinas was subsequently assigned as a Combat Medic with 2nd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. 

Since October of last year, Solinas served as a Flight Paramedic for the Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division.

The crash was the deadliest training incident for the Army since March 2015, when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed into the water off the Florida coast in dense fog, said Jimmie Cummings, spokesperson for the Army Combat Readiness Center at Fort Rucker. 

Sgt. David Solinas Jr served as a Flight Paramedic for the Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division

Four soldiers from the Louisiana Army National Guard and seven Marine special operations forces were killed.

Cummings said the most deadly non-combat Black Hawk crash was in 1988 and also involved Fort Campbell aircraft. 

The crash – which had the third highest number of fatalities for an Army aircraft training mission – killed 17 troops when two helicopters collided in mid-air. 

The most deadly Army aircraft training incident was a Chinook crash in Germany in 1982, that killed 46 U.S. and international forces. The second was a C-23 Sherpa fixed wing aircraft crash in Georgia in 2001 that killed 21 Army and Air Guard personnel.

Fort Campbell also had a multi-aircraft crash in 1996, when two Blackhawks clipped propellers. 

The crash killed five soldiers. The last deadly aviation accident at Fort Campbell occurred in 2018, when an Apache helicopter crashed during training, killing two soldiers on board.

The Black Hawk helicopter is a critical workhorse for the U.S. Army and is used in security, transport, medical evacuations, search and rescue and other missions.

The helicopters are known to many people from the 2001 movie ‘Black Hawk Down,’ which is about a 1993 battle in Somalia.