3 Killed, 2 Injured in Crash of Helicopter at Edwards Air Force Base

An Air Force helicopter crashed Thursday during a parachute training mission at Edwards Air Force Base, killing three of the five people aboard and injuring the two others, officials said.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known. It was the second incident of its kind involving an Air Force UH-1N Huey helicopter this year at the sprawling desert base about 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

A Huey search and rescue helicopter crashed on a night training mission Jan. 14, killing two crew members and injuring two others.

Edwards officials did not release the identities of the crew members on the helicopter involved in Thursday’s crash, pending notification of relatives. The helicopter was one of only three of its kind used by the Air Force at Edwards.

The two survivors parachuted from the aircraft. Rescuers found them walking in the desert about half a mile from the grove of Joshua trees where the helicopter crashed and caught fire about 9 a.m. The pair, described as experienced jumpers receiving advanced training, were treated at the base hospital for minor injuries.

The twin-engine helicopter, built by Bell Helicopter-Textron Inc., was on a routine parachute jump exercise conducted by the base’s survival training school, which instructs Air Force pilots and crew members in emergency procedures.

It was not known whether the two survivors jumped as part of the training exercise or because of a problem with the helicopter. The helicopter was in radio contact with personnel on the ground before the crash, but Air Force officials did not disclose whether the crew reported any problems.

When rescue units arrived, the burning remains of the aircraft had ignited surrounding desert brush. The blaze was quickly extinguished by firefighters, base Fire Chief Willie Bell said.

Debris was “scattered over an area of one to 1 1/2 miles,” Bell said.

The bodies of the three people who died were in the wrecked fuselage, he said.

“We have no idea” why the helicopter went down, said Air Force Col. Steven Henrich, head of the investigation team at the crash scene, where a 12-foot-long piece of olive-green fuselage lay on the ground.

Base officials sealed off the area and brought in search crews and spotlights to comb the desert for stray pieces of wreckage. That process was expected to continue into the evening.

The Air Force began using the Huey in 1971 and still uses it for transport, medical, evacuation and other purposes. It typically accommodates a pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer, rescue specialist and up to 13 passengers, the Air Force said.