A member of the 3rd Infantry Division’s combat aviation brigade was killed in an accident Wednesday morning at Wright Army Airfield, Georgia, division officials said.
The accident involved two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, said division spokesperson Lt. Col. Lindsey Elder in a release. She added that the airfield is “closed until further notice.”
Reached via phone, Elder told Army Times that investigators from the Army Criminal Investigative Division and the Army Combat Readiness Center are looking into how the soldier’s death occurred.
It’s not clear whether the helicopters were in flight at the time of the accident.
Wright Army Airfield is an auxiliary airfield site for the division between the town of Hinesville and Fort Stewart. The bulk of the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade is stationed at nearby Hunter Army Airfield, which is further from Fort Stewart and located closer to the city of Savannah.
The airfield at Wright, also known as MidCoast Regional Airport, is used for both military and civilian aviation. A publicly available NOTAM message indicated that the main runway and 12 of the facility’s helicopter pads will remain closed through Friday.
Elder said the division will release more information on the incident as investigations unfold, and the deceased soldier’s identity will be released after their next of kin is notified.
Davis Winkie covers the Army for Military Times. He studied history at Vanderbilt and UNC-Chapel Hill, and served five years in the Army Guard. His investigations earned the Society of Professional Journalists' 2023 Sunshine Award and consecutive Military Reporters and Editors honors, among others. Davis was also a 2022 Livingston Awards finalist.
