US loses veteran pilots in NY helicopter crash

KABUL (Pajhwok): The US has lost three experienced pilots, who previously served in Afghanistan, in a helicopter crash

The three National Guard members were killed earlier in the week when a helicopter crashed in New York, US officials said Friday.

The victims were identified as Chief Warrant Officer 5 Steven Skoda, 54, of Rochester, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Christian Koch, 39, of Honeoye Falls, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Daniel Prial, 30 of Rochester.

The Associated Press reported the UH-60 Black Hawk medical evacuation helicopter went down in a farmer’s field close to Mendon, south of Rochester, on Wednesday.

Skoda, who joined the National Guard in 1987, was a veteran of the Afghanistan war. He was twice deployed to the country in 2013 and 2019.

Koch had participated in the Afghan war and the conflict in Iraq. He also was a civilian pilot for the New York State Police and was recently honored by the Red Cross for his role in the rescue of an 11-year-old boy who fell 100 feet down a ravine in June.

PAN Monitor/mud