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| Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
Military helicopter crashes in Mendon, killing 3
The accident was reported shortly after 6:30 p.m. in a field near West Bloomfield Road, between Cheese Factory and Boughton Hill Roads, just south-east of Mendon Ponds Park.
Tina MacIntyre-Yee, Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester
MENDON, NY – Three soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash in Mendon Wednesday night, according to the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs.
Authorities said a New York Army National Guard UH-60 medevac helicopter based at the Army Aviation Support Center at Grand Rochester International Airport had crashed during a routine training mission.
The accident was reported shortly after 6:30 p.m. in a field near West Bloomfield Road, between Cheese Factory and Boughton Hill Roads, just south-east of Mendon Ponds Park.
A source close to the incident said the three soldiers killed were men. Their families were informed.
“It’s a heavy burden on all of us,” Monroe County Sheriff Todd Baxter said at a press conference Wednesday night. “These are our purveyors of freedom … just showing once again that freedom is not free. We have lost three great Americans today in the service of our country.”
According to preliminary reports from 911, “there were sputum calls from an engine, and the plane was flying very low, lower than normal,” Baxter said.
Shortly after, an accident was reported.
Baxter said authorities had been in contact with the control tower at Grand Rochester International Airport, but did not verify whether people on the helicopter were communicating with anyone in the tower at the time of the accident.
He said he did not know the helicopter’s flight plan, but authorities are trying to “identify the path of the plane and what the debris field looks like.”
The New York National Guard is on its way to Mendon and will conduct a joint investigation, with the Federal Aviation Administration, Baxter said. MPs will complete a preliminary investigation into the crash and expect to stay at the scene overnight and Thursday.
The aircraft was assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 171st General Support Aviation Battalion, according to the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs.
“It’s a very tight-knit unit,” Baxter said, adding that many individuals and families are responding to the National Guard Center at the back of the airport.
“I am devastated by the news tonight of a New York National Guard helicopter crash in the town of Mendon that killed three of New York’s bravest while on a training mission,” said the Governor Andrew Cuomo Wednesday night.
“Members of the National Guard are our citizen soldiers who voluntarily serve and protect at home and abroad, and I extend the prayers and condolences of all New Yorkers to the families, loved ones and comrades of these honorable heroes we will never forget, ”he said.
Cuomo said he was running the flags on all state buildings on Thursday.
“I am sorry to learn that three of the brave New York Army National Guardsmen were killed in a helicopter crash during a training mission,” said US Senator Charles Schumer, D -NY. “These members of the National Guard have answered the call to help and serve their fellow New Yorkers and their country, and their sacrifices will never be forgotten. I extend my deepest condolences to the loved ones of these slain soldiers and to all Monroe County community.
A New York State Police helicopter helped search for possible aerial survivors, overflying the crash site. The debris field stretches “for what I would describe as a few blocks”, about hundreds of feet in each direction from the crash site, Baxter said.
Mendon Fire Chief Bill Kessler said the helicopter was on fire when first responders arrived at the scene. Airport firefighters were also called to the scene to put out the blaze, he said.
Although there are homes near the crash site, Baxter said no buildings were hit.
West Bloomfield Road, between Cheese Factory and Boughton Hill roads is closed as authorities investigate the scene. Expect the road to be closed by at least noon on Thursday.
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