Three National Guard members killed in helicopter crash near Boise

Helicopter and crew were located around 12:15 am Wednesday morning

Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters fly during the “Hawk Strike 2020” joint military exercise. (AFP via Getty Images)

Three members of the National Guard have been killed after a Black Hawk helicopter crashed near Boise, Idaho. The crash happened after 8 pm on Tuesday night. 

All three people on board were pilots. They were taking part in a routine training flight when they crashed near Lucky Peak, just south of Boise. 

Commander of the Idaho National Guard, Major General Michael Garshak, said: “This is a tremendous loss to the Idaho National Guard and our community. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones as we work through this tragedy.”

The Idaho Army National Guard’s state aviation officer Colonel Christopher Burt said the helicopter was last contacted at 7:45 pm. The Emergency Transmitter Locator, a device aboard the helicopter, was activated just after 8 pm, and rescue crews were sent out on the ground and in the air. 

The helicopter and crew were located around 12:15 am on Wednesday morning. The cause of the accident is still unclear and will be investigated. The names of those who died will not be published until their families have been notified. 

Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Borders told ABC News that the crash area is mountainous and that the weather was snowy at the time of the accident. 

“It’s been poor conditions on and off throughout the period. It hampered our initial air search efforts when we were notified that the emergency locator had triggered. As a result, we immediately launched a ground crew to search," Lieutenant Colonel Borders told ABC News. 

"At approximately 11 pm the weather improved enough to launch another aircraft to commence the air search. And after midnight tonight, approximately 12:15 am our search and rescue crew located the aircraft and confirmed there were no survivors," he added.