The U.S. Army has identified the four soldiers who lost their lives in a tragic helicopter crash on Wednesday near a base in Washington state.
The individuals are chief warrant officers Andrew Cully and Andrew Kraus, along with sergeants Donavon Scott and Jadalyn Good, as stated in an Army release on Monday.
Cully, 35, was a resident of Sparta, Missouri; Kraus, 39, hailed from Sanibel, Florida; Scott, 25, came from Tacoma, Washington; and Good, 23, called Mount Vernon, Washington, home.
The helicopter was on a routine flight training west of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, according to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command.
The base is about 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of Tacoma under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Joint Base Headquarters.
The crash’s cause is still being examined. However, the National Weather Service reported mostly clear skies with mild southern winds at the crash time.
According to Col. Stephen Smith in the release, the soldiers exemplified the Army’s core values of dedication, selflessness, and excellence.
They served in the esteemed 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, known for conducting nighttime operations, when their MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter went down around 9 p.m.
The regiment’s mission is to organize, equip and employ Army special operations aviation forces around the world, according to the Army’s website.
“Known as Night Stalkers, these soldiers are recognized for their proficiency in nighttime operations,” the website said. “They are highly trained and ready to accomplish the very toughest missions in all environments, anywhere in the world, day or night, with unparalleled precision.”
This was the second deadly crash of this elite unit in recent years.
Five Army aviation special operations forces were killed when a helicopter crashed in the Eastern Mediterranean in 2023 during a routine air refueling mission as part of military training. They were all part of the Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
In March 2024, two soldiers from the Joint Base Lewis-McChord SOAR unit were hospitalized when their Apache helicopter crashed at the base during a routine training exercise.
