An errant bundle was dropped onto an elementary school in Waimanalo, Hawaii, from an Army Black Hawk helicopter. Above, a Black Hawk flies over the island of Oahu. (Sgt. 1st Class Crista Mary Mack/Army)
A U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter missed its mark on Thursday, accidentally dropping an equipment bundle onto the campus of an elementary school in Waimanalo, Hawaii.
The equipment bundle was parachuted onto the campus of Waimanalo Elementary and Intermediate School during a training exercise designed to teach soldiers how to deliver equipment by parachute from helicopters.
The 90-pound bundle “missed its intended drop zone on Marine Corps Training Area Bellows and landed on the campus,” according to a press release from the 25th Infantry Division.
A bundle is dropped from a C-130 Hercules. (Osakabe Yasuo/Air Force)
It missed the drop zone by 100 to 200 meters, according to Master Sgt. Jason Stadel, a spokesman for the 25th Infantry Division.
The school sent a letter to parents explaining what happened and offered counseling to students who may have been upset by the incident.
“If your child was alarmed by the situation and is in need of counseling support, please notify us,” school principal Noel Richardson wrote.
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