An Air Force UH-1N Huey helicopter crashed on a routine training flight from Kirtland AFB, N.M. The aircrew, assigned to the base’s 58th Special Operations Wing, escaped the wreckage unscathed before flames consumed the helicopter just before noon local time on Wednesday, reported KRQE News in Albuquerque. The helicopter impacted a slope on Hidden Mountain, roughly 25 miles southwest of Kirtland, due west of Los Lunas, N.M. According to KRQE’s report, two instructor pilots, a flight engineer instructor, and student were conducting combat search and rescue training at the time of the crash. The Air Force is convening a board of inquiry to investigate the cause of the mishap.
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.