Helicopter Accidents

A helicopter pilot was killed Monday when the aircraft crashed while delivering water to firefighters battling a blaze in the Klamath National Forest, authorities said. The unidentified pilot was in "extremely rugged" territory about 12 miles southeast of Happy Camp in Siskiyou County when the crash occurred shortly after 10 a.m., said Duane Lyon, a U.S. Forest Service spokesman. Investigators were trying to determine the cause of the crash.

A National Guard helicopter on a U.S. Border Patrol mission crashed into Otay Mountain on Tuesday, injuring five agents and four guardsmen. The cause of the crash, which occurred about 20 miles east of San Diego, has not been determined. The helicopter was ferrying agents to a remote area near the U.S.-Mexico border for an afternoon foot patrol. The National Guard has been assisting Border Patrol operations since the summer, providing transport, surveillance and other support.

The Navy called off a search Saturday for three missing crew members of a helicopter that had crashed in the ocean 50 miles off California's southern coast. Friday's crash during a training mission left one sailor dead, and the Navy had searched for the others into Saturday. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Elizabeth Meydenbauer said water temperature and the time elapsed since the crash led Navy officials to deem the crew's survival unlikely. She said the search was stopped at 3 p.m.

A UH-60 Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed in northern Italy, killing at least five of the 11 service members on board, the Army said in a statement released by Headquarters Heidelberg, Germany. Television footage showed the charred remains of the chopper, which broke apart, smoldering in a swampy field. The helicopter, attached to the 1st Battalion, 214th Aviation Regiment, went down about 22 miles southwest of Aviano, the Army said.

The crash of a helicopter carrying aides to President Pervez Musharraf revived concerns for the Pakistani leader's safety as his war with Islamic militants intensifies. The army said four people died when the craft tried to land after a technical problem. Three helicopters were taking Musharraf and his entourage to the Pakistani-held portion of Kashmir.

Rescue crews called off operations after the U.S. military said it had accounted for 10 American troops who were missing after two helicopters crashed into the sea off Djibouti. Officials declined to reveal whether the troops had survived until family members were notified. The U.S. military said Friday that two injured crew members were rescued after the CH-53E helicopters went down in the Gulf of Aden, near the northern town of Ras Siyyan.

The bodies of seven German peacekeepers killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan arrived home Wednesday, met by grieving relatives and Defense Minister Peter Struck. An honor guard carrying flaming torches stood at attention in the twilight and drums rolled softly as the flag-draped coffins were carried off the transport plane at Cologne-Bonn airport. "All of Germany grieves with you," Struck told the victims' relatives.

A helicopter crash-landed eight miles northwest of Van Nuys Airport on Tuesday, seriously injuring one of the two men aboard, officials said. The cause of the 3 p.m. crash was not immediately known. The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate, officials said. The aircraft reportedly was owned by Group 3 Aviation, a training school at the airport. Both men were taken to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, where one was listed in serious condition.

A Russian military helicopter crashed Friday during a combat mission against separatist guerrillas in the southern republic of Chechnya, killing at least 18 soldiers, authorities said. Initial reports said the craft was brought down by rebel fire, but officials later said it was more likely that mechanical failure was the cause. Three insurgents were reported killed in the battle, but others apparently escaped into nearby mountains.

A Black Hawk helicopter loaded with U.S. troops crashed Thursday in Afghanistan, killing one crew member and injuring 12, the military said. The injured troops -- three soldiers and nine Marines -- were taken to Camp Salerno, an American base near the city of Khowst, about 90 miles southeast of Kabul, for treatment. "The helicopter was destroyed in the crash but did not burn," the military said in a statement. "Hostile fire was not involved. The cause of the crash is under investigation."