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U.S. copter crashes in Honduras, killing 5©Associated PressDecember 13, 2002 SANTA CRUZ DE YOJOA, Honduras -- An American Black Hawk helicopter crashed in the hills of central Honduras during a night training exercise, killing five U.S. soldiers. The helicopter, from Soto Cano Air Force Base in Palmerola, Honduras, crashed about 9 p.m. Wednesday while on routine training, said Lt. Col. Bill Costello, a spokesman for the U.S. Southern Command in Florida. "Right now, we are classifying it as a training accident," Costello said Thursday. "It is being investigated." The names of the dead were being withheld until their families could be notified. The crew belonged to the 1st Battalion, 228th Aviation Regiment, based at Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico. There had been heavy rains in the area over the past three days, but the cause of the crash was not known. Pieces of metal and other debris were strewn across a hillside, which was guarded by Honduran and U.S. military officials. The helicopter crashed in a remote agricultural area near a small highway. Maj. Rich Crusan, a U.S. Army South spokesman, confirmed that five crew members were aboard the helicopter. He said the bodies were taken to Soto Cano Air Force Base on Thursday. The unit involved in the crash was assigned to Joint Task Force Bravo, the U.S. military command that conducts training, counter-drug and humanitarian missions in Central and South America and the Caribbean. The task force's spokesman, Master Sgt. Guy Volb, said the unit is "like a very small town." "Our community is so closely knit it affects everybody," Volb said. "It's a pretty sad day for us here." The control tower at La Mesa international airport in San Pedro Sula, about 110 miles north of the capital, Tegucigalpa, reported the helicopter had arrived there from the Palmerola base to participate in a night landing exercise and to refuel. The helicopter headed back to the base and crashed 40 minutes after taking off for the hills near Santa Cruz de Yojoa, about 85 miles north of Tegucigalpa.
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