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My prayers go out to the family of 2LT Cook and for the other 3 crew members of this UH60. LT Cook was a 2008 graduate of Texas A&M and had just been commissioned in December.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/01/ap_black_hawk_crash_011209/
New officer dies in Black Hawk crash
By Michelle Tan - mtan@militarytimes.com
Posted : Tuesday Jan 13, 2009 13:33:16 EST
One month after receiving his commission, 2nd Lt. Zachary Cook, one of the Army’s newest officers, was killed on the same campus where he received his degree.
Cook, who was going to be an aviator, was in the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter that crashed Monday in a field on the campus of Texas A&M University. Four other soldiers, all members of the air crew and the Texas National Guard, were injured.
The helicopter crashed about 3:30 p.m. near the Corps of Cadets field on the school’s College Station campus, 100 miles northwest of Houston, according to The Associated Press.
Cook, who received his commission Dec. 11, and the crew had spent the day ferrying the school’s ROTC cadets to Camp Swift, near Austin, for a field training exercise, said an Army source who asked to remain anonymous. Cook, who spent the day on the helicopter, repeating the 30-minute flight to Camp Swift, was on board to make sure the ROTC cadets made it to the training site, the Army source said.
Before the crash, the crew was taking off to the local airport in College Station to refuel, the Army source said. The helicopter lifted off about 100 feet before it began to spin out of control and dive to the ground, he said.
Officials believe mechanical failure, possibly a locked up tail rotor, caused the crash, the Army source said.
The AP has reported that two of the crash victims were in critical condition and a third was in stable condition. Another crash victim was taken to a different hospital. No other details were available, AP reported.
Students at the university are still on winter break. Classes are to resume Jan. 20. The Army source said a memorial service honoring Cook is likely to take place that day.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/01/ap_black_hawk_crash_011209/
New officer dies in Black Hawk crash
By Michelle Tan - mtan@militarytimes.com
Posted : Tuesday Jan 13, 2009 13:33:16 EST
One month after receiving his commission, 2nd Lt. Zachary Cook, one of the Army’s newest officers, was killed on the same campus where he received his degree.
Cook, who was going to be an aviator, was in the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter that crashed Monday in a field on the campus of Texas A&M University. Four other soldiers, all members of the air crew and the Texas National Guard, were injured.
The helicopter crashed about 3:30 p.m. near the Corps of Cadets field on the school’s College Station campus, 100 miles northwest of Houston, according to The Associated Press.
Cook, who received his commission Dec. 11, and the crew had spent the day ferrying the school’s ROTC cadets to Camp Swift, near Austin, for a field training exercise, said an Army source who asked to remain anonymous. Cook, who spent the day on the helicopter, repeating the 30-minute flight to Camp Swift, was on board to make sure the ROTC cadets made it to the training site, the Army source said.
Before the crash, the crew was taking off to the local airport in College Station to refuel, the Army source said. The helicopter lifted off about 100 feet before it began to spin out of control and dive to the ground, he said.
Officials believe mechanical failure, possibly a locked up tail rotor, caused the crash, the Army source said.
The AP has reported that two of the crash victims were in critical condition and a third was in stable condition. Another crash victim was taken to a different hospital. No other details were available, AP reported.
Students at the university are still on winter break. Classes are to resume Jan. 20. The Army source said a memorial service honoring Cook is likely to take place that day.
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