Did Bird Strike Cause Fatal Black Hawk Helicopter Crash In England?

Did Bird Strike Cause Fatal Black Hawk Helicopter Crash? Investigators Pictured At Nature Reserve Site Where Four US Air Force Crew Members Died As They Probe Whether Flock Of Geese Knocked Out Engine -- Daily Mail

* Aircraft took off from U.S. Air Force base at RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk, but crashed off Norfolk coast at 7pm last night
* The helicopter was a Pave Hawk, on a routine low-level flying exercise, when Norfolk residents hear 'unusual' sound
* 400m cordon set up because helicopter contained live ammunition and the bodies of four dead on board overnight
* 'Crash site itself is an area of debris on the marsh that's about the size of a football pitch,' police say
* Coroner to inspect site so bodies can be removed and U.S. and British air force personnel will then take over scene
* Marsh land is haven for all types of birds and investigators will consider if large waterfowl were sucked into engines

A U.S. military helicopter that crashed on a coastal nature reserve in north Norfolk killing the four crew on board could have been brought down by a bird strike, it emerged today.

Investigators are considering whether the HH-60G Pave Hawk may have lost power suddenly after one or more geese were sucked into its engines.

The aircraft, from the American air force base at RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk, was out on a routine low-level flying exercise when it fell from the sky.

Residents of Cley-next-the-Sea heard a 'heavy and very unusual' sound overhead as the helicopter - which specialises in recovering troops from war zones - plummeted into flooded marshland.

The modified version of the U.S. Army's Black Hawk crashed just after 7pm last night and the wreckage has spread across an area the size of a football pitch.

The bodies of the dead, who have not been named, were still on board the stricken aircraft this morning and will probably remain there until at least tomorrow.

A second helicopter from RAF Lakenheath, which was also in the area at the time of the crash and set down on the marshes to try to assist, is also being inspected on the shingle bank it landed on.

Read more ....

Update: Investigation launched into fatal US Air Force helicopter crash -- Euronews

My Comment: our prayers are with the families and their loved ones.