Army News, news from Iraq, - Army Times

Texas A&M Black Hawk crash kills 1, injures 4

One month after receiving his commission, 2nd Lt. Zachary Cook, one of the Army’s newest officers, was killed on the same campus where he received his degree.

Cook, 22, of Lufkin, Texas, was in the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter that crashed Monday in a field on the campus of Texas A&M University. Cook, who was planning to be a pilot, received his commission on Dec. 12. He was temporarily assigned to the university’s ROTC program.

Four other soldiers, all members of the air crew and the Texas National Guard, were injured.

They are 1st Lt. Ellis W. Taylor, 31, of Buda, Texas; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Matthew J. Smith, 41, of Leander, Texas; Sgt. Richard D. Ravenscraft, 24, of Austin, Texas; and Sgt. Charles C. Mitts, 42, of Spring, Texas.

Taylor is assigned to Bravo Company, 449th Aviation Support Battalion. Smith and Mitts are from Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 108th Aviation Regiment, and Ravenscraft is assigned to the 71st Brigade Forward Support Battalion.

As of Tuesday evening, Smith and Mitts were in critical condition, and Ellis and Ravenscraft were in stable condition, according to the Guard.

The helicopter crashed about 3:30 p.m. Monday near the Corps of Cadets field on the school’s College Station campus, 100 miles northwest of Houston, according to The Associated Press.

Cook and the crew had spent the day ferrying the school’s ROTC cadets to Camp Swift, a Guard training facility 20 miles east of Austin, for a field training exercise, an Army official told Army Times. Cook spent the day on the helicopter, repeating the 30-minute flight to Camp Swift to make sure the ROTC cadets made it to the training site, the Army official said.

The Guard has worked with Texas A&M on this exercise for years, providing transportation and related support activities to the university, said Col. Bill Meehan, a spokesman for the Texas Guard. About 20 aviation soldiers were participating in the exercise, he said.

All four Guard soldiers involved in the crash have served in Iraq, according to the Guard. Ellis, Smith and Mitts deployed there from 2006 to 2007, and Ravenscraft served there in 2007 and 2008.

Before the crash, the crew was taking off to the local airport in College Station to refuel, the Army official said. The helicopter lifted off about 100 feet before it began to spin out of control and dive to the ground, he said.

Officials believe mechanical failure, possibly a locked up tail rotor, caused the crash, the Army official said. Army officials from Fort Rucker, Ala., are investigating the crash.

Students at the university are still on winter break. Classes are to resume Jan. 20. The Army official said a memorial service honoring Cook is likely to take place that day.