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2 soldiers killed in Hawaii helicopter crash

Two Army helicopter pilots died Wednesday after their two-seat OH-58D Kiowa helicopter belonging to the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade crashed at Wheeler Army Airfield, officials said.

The two soldiers were the only people on board the helicopter and were conducting a general maintenance test flight, the Army said.

The names of the deceased are being withheld until the families have been notified. The cause of the accident is being investigated, the Army said in a news release.

The helicopter crashed within the Wheeler perimeter in the airfield and hangar area.

Col. Matthew Margotta, commander of U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii, Margotta characterized the incident as a “hard landing.”

Margotta told reporters at Wheeler that the helicopter was on “a routine maintenance test flight” and was in the process of landing when the incident occurred about 3:30 p.m.

“The pilot still had control of the helicopter when it landed,” Margotta said.

Both pilots on board were killed, he said. No other information about the flight was disclosed.

Asked to talk about risks in flight operations, Margotta said, “Obviously when you fly helicopters and these guys are trained to go to combat and that’s what they’re preparing to do right now. There are certain risks that’s inherent in what they do and they accept those risks.”

A Hawaii National Guard member who was at the scene could not readily identify the type of helicopter that had crashed because the damage was so severe.

The 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, with its 2,400 soldiers, is preparing for a fall deployment to Iraq and many of its members are returning from training at Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island and at the National Training Center in Califor