14 U.S. troops killed in helicopter crash; 'The cause of the incident is under investigation'

Above: A UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter over Iraq. The Blackhawk carries two pilots, two gunners and up to 10 passengers.

U.S. Military Helicopter Crashes in Iraq, Killing 14

Fourteen U.S. soldiers died when a Blackhawk helicopter went down in northern Iraq, the worst crash since January 2005...

Two UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters were on a night operation when one of the aircraft went down early today, the military said in an e-mailed statement. The helicopter had been carrying four crewmembers and 10 passengers from Task Force Lightning.

"Initial indications are that the aircraft experienced a mechanical malfunction. There were no indications of hostile fire," the military said in the statement. "The cause of the incident is under investigation."

U.S.-led coalition forces fly thousands of logistical support, personnel movement and offensive-operations helicopter missions every month in Iraq. Three U.S. military helicopters and another belonging to an American security company crashed or were shot down in less than two weeks in January and February.

The deadliest American helicopter crash in Iraq killed 30 U.S. Marines and a sailor on Jan. 26, 2005.

Read the rest at Bloomberg

Helicopter crash kills 14 soldiers

Fourteen Task Force Lightning soldiers were killed early Wednesday when their helicopter crashed in northern Iraq...

Task Force Lighting is headquartered in Tikrit at Speicher Contingency Operations Base and has responsibility for several units in a wide area north of Baghdad.

The identities of the victims and their unit information will not be released until their families have been notified.

The human toll in Wednesday’s crash is the deadliest for the Army this year. On Jan. 20, 12 soldiers were killed in Diyala Province north of Baghdad when their helicopter was shot down by a missile believed to have been fired from the back of a pickup truck.

Read the rest at Army Times