Helicopter crash victims to be honoured at ceremony
A memorial service will be held to honour four US Air Force personnel who died in a helicopter crash 10 years ago. Capt Christopher Stover, Capt Sean Ruane, Technical Sgt Dale Mathews and Staff Sgt Afton Ponce died on a training mission at Cley Marshes in Norfolk on 7 January 2014. The tragedy happened when geese struck the vehicle[1].
Military staff, including HM Coastguard officers who were there that night, are due to attend a ceremony on Sunday. “We honour them because they were Liberty Airmen and they deserve to be remembered,” said Barry Wall, the USAF 48th Fighter Wing chief of occupational safety at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk. Mr Wall said colleagues “across the globe” had been taking part in charity events in recent years to commemorate the four victims.
Money has been raised thanks to events including a 22-mile march carrying 56lb (25kg) rucksacks, a 22-mile Peloton cycle ride and a 22,000 burpee challenge.
The helicopter from RAF Lakenheath was flying at 110ft (33m) before the tragedy happened The victims from RAF Lakenheath were in an HH-60G Pave Hawk, part of the 48th Fighter Wing. They were flying 110ft (33m) above ground at a speed of about 110 knots (126mph) just before the crash.
An Accident Investigation Branch report said the geese were likely startled by the noise of the helicopter and at least three of them penetrated the windscreen. Captains Stover and Ruane were pilots, and the other two were acting as special mission aviators. Military personnel, police officers and HM Coastguard officers are expected at the ceremony at 11:00 GMT at the Cley Marshes Visitor Centre, part of the Norfolk Wildlife Trust.
Local people and military personnel are due to attend the ceremony
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References
- ^ geese struck the vehicle (www.bbc.co.uk)
- ^ Facebook (www.facebook.com)
- ^ Instagram (www.instagram.com)
- ^ [email protected] (news.yahoo.com)