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Helicopter crash: Four dead US air crew to be recovered Helicopter crash: 'No warning' before Pave Hawk came down
(about 7 hours later)
The bodies of four American servicemen killed when their helicopter came down during a training exercise on the north Norfolk coast are due to be recovered. No warning of any problems was made from a helicopter before it crashed, killing all four crew members, a US Air Force Commander has said.
Capt Christopher Stover, Capt Sean Ruane, Technical Sgt Dale Mathews and Staff Sgt Afton Ponce died in the crash in Cley next the Sea. Capt Christopher Stover, Capt Sean Ruane, Technical Sgt Dale Mathews and Staff Sgt Afton Ponce died in the crash in Cley next the Sea, north Norfolk.
The HH-60G Pave Hawk from the 48th Fighter Wing was based RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk and came down on Tuesday.The HH-60G Pave Hawk from the 48th Fighter Wing was based RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk and came down on Tuesday.
It was on a low-level night training mission carrying live ammunition. The crew members' bodies are due to be recovered from the site later.
Tributes have been paid to Capt Ruane, who leaves a wife Rachel and their young son Liam. The Pave Hawk was armed with 600 rounds of 50-calibre bullets and a 9mm side-arm with 15 bullets, which were scattered across an area the size of a football pitch.
It was on a low-level night training mission, which Col Kyle Robinson, Commander of 48th Wing described as a routine flight.
"No warning was received about problems with the helicopter," he said.
"Yesterday, we did not fly across the whole 48 Fighter wing, showing our support and condolences for the members of the D6 rescue squadron.
"We will start some limited flight operations today as we continue forward."
He added that it was "still too early to speculate as what caused the crash and make all long-term decisions based on that".
Captains Stover and Ruane were pilots, while Tech Sgt Mathews and SSgt Ponce were acting as special mission aviators.
Col Robinson said the crew were "flying to a gunnery range in Holbeach [Lincolnshire], and used that frequently for training".
He said the USAF would continue to work with UK police, the Ministry of Defence as the investigation and recovery continued.
Air accident, RAF and US investigators have spent the last two days at the scene of the crash.Air accident, RAF and US investigators have spent the last two days at the scene of the crash.
The inquiry is being hampered because the helicopter was carrying munitions, meaning that ordnance has been scattered around the site, investigators said.
A 400-metre police cordon is expected to remain in place at the scene until Monday and the public have been asked to stay away.A 400-metre police cordon is expected to remain in place at the scene until Monday and the public have been asked to stay away.
RAF Lakenheath, where US Airforce 48th Fighter Wing is based, said that Captains Stover and Ruane were pilots, while Tech Sgt Mathews and SSgt Ponce were acting as special mission aviators. Chief Supt Bob Scully of Norfolk Police said it would not be a "quick process".
Col Kyle Robinson, 48th Fighter Wing commander, said: "We continue to think of the loved ones who are experiencing such a tragic, sudden loss. "It all hinges on our ability to establish what happened and the removal of the deceased could disrupt the evidence, so this must be done methodically step by step."
Col Robinson added that had been a "tragic, sudden loss".
"The Liberty Wing feels as though it has lost members of its family, and we stand by to support one another and these airmen's families during this difficult time.""The Liberty Wing feels as though it has lost members of its family, and we stand by to support one another and these airmen's families during this difficult time."