A UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed just shortly after 8 PM on Tuesday, killing three Idaho Army National Guard personnel.
The crash happened near Boise, just south of Lucky Peak.
According to a news released by officials, all three members of the Idaho National Guard who died were pilots and were in the middle of a routine training flight.
In a report by ABC News, Idaho Army National Guard's state aviation officer, Col. Christopher Burt, they were last in contact with the aircraft at around 7:45. After which, at around 8 o'clock, the aircraft's Emergency Transmitter Locator device was activated and prompted recovery procedures.
Rescue crews searched both air and ground in an attempt to rescue the aircraft's crew.
Meanwhile, Idaho National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Borders said that the weather in the area was snowy during the crash, and the crash happened in a mountainous area.
The remains of the three personnel and the aircraft were found by the rescue teams at around 12:15 AM on Wednesday, New York Post reported.
Also, Borders said that the weather conditions had been on and off throughout the search and rescue operations. He also added that the conditions even hampered several of their initial search efforts in the air following the notification that the aircraft's emergency locator was triggered.
Thus, Borders stated that a ground search was immediately launched. When the weather conditions improved at around 11 PM, he stated, another air search was conducted.
At around 12:15 in the morning, Borders said that search and rescue teams confirmed that the aircraft was found and that there were no survivors, Fox News reported.
As of the moment, the Idaho National Guard is still investigating the cause of the accident. The names of the fallen National Gaurd personnel are still withheld since their next of kin are yet to be notified.
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Officials React to Death of Idaho National Guard Pilots
Following the Black Hawk crash that took the life of three Idaho National Guard pilots, lawmakers and elected officials took it to social media to express sorrow with the families of the fallen, Wednesday.
In view of the tragedy, Gov. Brad Little of Idaho directed that all flags be raised in half-staff in order to honor the lives of the three National Guard personnel. The governor's order stated that the flags will be on half-mast starting on Wednesday until the time that the last of the three pilots is buried.
Meanwhile, all representatives of the four congressional districts of Idaho went online and praised the late aviators for their service. They also sent their condolences to the families and loved ones of the pilots.
While the Idaho National Guard is still continuing the investigation into the tragic crash, the suspension on all flying operations was ordered for the time being, KTVB7 reported via MSN.
