Navy helo crashes in W.Va., at least 4 injured - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

Navy helo crashes in W.Va., at least 4 injured

A Navy MH-60S Seahawk from Helicopter Sea Combat Support Squadron 26 crashed Thursday during a training exercise in a remote, hilly area of West Virginia, injuring at least four.

West Virginia Air National Guard Lt. Col. Harrison Gilliam said the accident occurred about 20 miles south of Lewisburg about 2 p.m. The helicopter was participating in a training exercise out of Fort Pickett, Va. Gilliam says it wasn’t clear how bad the injuries were or what caused the accident.

The squadron is based at Naval Station Norfolk’s Chambers Field, Va.

The primary missions of the MH-60S are troop transport, vertical replenishment, search and rescue, special warfare support and airborne mine countermeasures. The S-model is built by Sikorsky and entered service in February 2002. It uses the UH-60 Black Hawk frame and is the first Navy helicopter to field the glass cockpit that relays flight data to pilots using four digital screens rather than gauges and dials.