Fort Campbell Helicopter Crash Leaves Multiple Dead in Kentucky—Governor

Two U.S. Army helicopters crashed near Fort Campbell in Kentucky, and several people are feared dead, according to the state's Governor Andy Beshear.

"We've got some tough news out of Fort Campbell, with early reports of a helicopter crash and fatalities are expected," Beshear, a Democrat who's been in office since 2019, wrote on Twitter early on Thursday.

Kentucky state police, the state's Division of Emergency Management and local officials were responding to the scene, he added.

"We will share more information as available. Please pray for all those affected," he concluded.

It's not yet clear exactly how many casualties there were from the crash, which happened during a training mission over Kentucky on Wednesday night when two U.S. Army helicopters collided, according to a statement by Army spokesperson Nondice L. Thurman early on Thursday.

The aircraft involved were HH60 Black Hawk assault helicopters, according to a Fort Campbell employee mentioned by The New York Times, which crashed into each other at about 10 p.m. on Wednesday during a training mission in Trigg County.

The same source told the newspaper that the helicopters belonged to the 101st Airborne Division, the Army's only air assault division.

In a statement published on Fort Campbell's Facebook page early on Thursday, the army base said that "the status of the crew members are unknown at this time. The command is currently focused on caring for the servicemembers and their families."

Fort Campbell said more details on the accident will be released once they become available. The crash is currently under investigation.

There have been several deadly helicopter crashes at Fort Campbell, one of the U.S. Army's most important installations, sprawling between Kentucky and Tennessee, in the history of the base.

On June 18, 1996, six members of the elite 101st Airborne Division—the same one involved in Wednesday's accident—were killed when two Army Black Hawk helicopters crashed into each other during a demonstration exercise.

More recently, two pilots were killed after a helicopter crash during training at Fort Campbell in 2015, while four pilots were injured in a similar incident in 2017. Two people died in 2018 after a helicopter crash during training.

Fort Campbell, the U.S. Army's second-largest base, numbers over 27,000 soldiers and 51,000 family members of those serving.

Newsweek has emailed Beshear's team and Fort Campbell's media team for comment.

Update 3/30/2023, 3:45 a.m. ET: This developing news story has been updated to add more context to the story and will be updated later with new information on the crash.