(CNN) Nine US service members were killed after two helicopters with the 101st Airborne Division crashed Wednesday in southwestern Kentucky, officials said. No one was saved.
The two HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters crashed around 10 p.m. in Trigg County near the Tennessee border, officials at nearby Fort Campbell said. SAYS early Thursday. They were participating “in a routine training mission when the incident occurred,” the base said in a statement on Facebook.
The helicopters are medical evacuation aircraft, and it is believed that the crash happened while they were flying and not during a medical evacuation drill, Brig. Gen. John Lubas, deputy commander of the 101st Airborne Division, said during a news conference Thursday morning at Fort Campbell.
The plane went down in an open field opposite a residential area, so no additional casualties or injuries were reported, he said.
The Black Hawks that crashed were two of four total helicopters participating in the training exercise, according to 101st Airborne Division spokesman Staff Sgt. Joshua Tverberg. One helicopter stopped to refuel, and another went down ahead of the two.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement later Thursday that he was “saddened by the tragic loss” and was working with the Army to “make sure our troops and their families receive the care they need after the this accident.”
“My heart goes out to the families of the service members and the members of the 101st Airborne Division who bravely and proudly serve our country every day,” he said.
‘A tough day for the Army’
The names of the deceased will not be released until all their families are notified, said Lubas.
“We’re going to do what we always do,” said Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear during the news conference, recognizing the families of fallen soldiers. “We’re going to wrap our arms around these families, and we’re going to be there with them, not just in the days but in the weeks and months and years to come.”
A military investigative team from Fort Rucker in Alabama will travel to the crash site and look into the cause, said Lubas. An Army official told CNN they were expected to arrive Thursday afternoon.
The HH-60 Black Hawk is the medical evacuation variant of the helicopter, which can carry a fully equipped 11-man infantry squad. One plane has five and the other has four people on board, which Lubas said is typical and includes the pilot, co-pilot, crew chief and “medics or other personnel.”
Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth said Thursday that it was “a tough day for the Army.”
“Thank you for your comments and thoughts and prayers for the families of our soldiers who died in the crash,” Wormuth told lawmakers during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. “Our hearts go out to them.”
“I am devastated to learn of the Kentucky Army helicopter accident involving our brave 101st Airborne,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said in a statement on Twitter. “My team is in contact with the Army and authorities on the ground. Please pray for our service members and their families as we learn more.”
The crash comes less than two months after two Tennessee National Guardsmen died when their UH-60 Black Hawk crashed during a training flight in Alabama.
Overall, the Army has averaged five deaths per year in on-duty aviation accidents since fiscal year 2018, according to the US Army Combat Readiness Center.
It was the worst helicopter training incident since 11 service members were killed when a Black Hawk crashed into a beach during a training mission taken off from Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
CNN’s Nicky Robertson and Mitch McCluskey contributed to this report.
