Fort Campbell mourns for second time in 2023 after another fatal helicopter crash

Fort Campbell soldiers are dealing with another loss this year after five soldiers were killed in a Black Hawk helicopter crash overseas on Saturday.

This is the second fatal Black Hawk crash that the base has dealt with in 2023. On Saturday, five members of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, known as the Night Stalkers, were killed when the MH-60 Blackhawk helicopter crashed over the Mediterranean Sea during a training mission Veterans Day weekend.

The first fatal crash happened in March. Nine soldiers were killed during a routine training exercise when two HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters in the Army's 101st Airborne Division crashed in Trigg County, Kentucky west of Fort Campbell.

What type of helicopter was involved in the Mediterranean Sea crash?

A MH-60 Black Hawk was involved in the crash off the coast of Cyprus. The helicopter is used to conduct overt or covert infiltration, exfiltration and resupply of special operations forces across different environmental conditions, according to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment's fact sheet.

The two Black Hawk helicopters that collided in March were HH-60, or utility aircraft used for medical evacuation, capable of holding two pilots and two crew members. It has a top speed of 114 mph and was first contracted for use in 2019, according to military records.

Helicopter crashes and Fort Campbell

The March crash was one of the deadliest crashes at Fort Campbell in recent history, according to Dawn Grimes, public affairs officer at the time of the crash.

A helicopter collision killed 17 in March 1988 while flying during a training mission at Fort Campbell, and in September 1960, an artillery fire killed 16 U.S. Army soldiers during a 3rd Armored Division training exercise in west Germany.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Fort Campbell mourns again after second fatal helicopter crash