Santa Rosa copter crash kills 1

This story is in the local Pensacola paper. I hate to pass along news
like this:

http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/...605310322/1006



Santa Rosa copter crash kills 1

Carmen Paige
@PensacolaNewsJournal.com
A military training helicopter crashed near Milton Tuesday morning,
killing one crew member and injuring two others.

The TH-57 training helicopter, assigned to Training Squadron 8 at
Whiting Field Naval Air Station, went down in a heavily wooded area off
Willard Norris Road, five miles west of the base, about 11:45 a.m.

“It was a routine training mission with an instructor and two student
pilots,” said Lori Aprilliano, Whiting Field public affairs officer.

LifeFlight helicopter transported the two injured people to West Florida
Hospital.


Names and other information about the crew were withheld pending
notification of next of kin.

An investigation into the cause of the crash could take up to 90 days,
Aprilliano said. The Naval Safety Center in Norfolk, Va., will release
the findings.

The crash happened outside the Milton city limits on Martin Road. A
bulldozer had to clear a path several hundred feet long for access to
the helicopter.

“Happening so soon after Memorial Day when we all took a day to remember
veterans and soldiers coming back from war, it is a sad day,” Aprilliano
said. “All of the people at Whiting Field will be in the process of
healing from losing one of our own.”