U.S. Air Force helicopter crashes in England, killing 4 crew members

USPA News - A U.S. Air Force Pave Hawk helicopter crashed in a coastal area of eastern England on early Tuesday evening, killing all four crew members on board but causing no casualties on the ground, officials said. The cause was not immediately known.

The accident occurred at approximately 7 p.m. local time when the HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter crashed in the Cley Marshes Nature Reserve near the town of Cley in Norfolk county. It happened while the aircraft, which was assigned to the U.S. Air Force 48th Fighter Wing at nearby Royal Air Force (RAF) Station Lakenheath, was on a low-level training mission. A Norfolk Constabulary spokesperson said all four crew members are believed to have died in the crash, but their identities were not immediately released pending next of kin notifications. "It is not believed that anyone in the surrounding area has been injured," police said. But assessments were still being carried out to determine whether munitions were on board of the aircraft, and an area of approximately 400 meters around the crash site was cordoned off as emergency services remained at the scene. "To ensure their safety, members of the public are asked to respect the cordons that are in place as inquiries are ongoing," the spokesperson added. Norfolk Wildlife Trust (NWT), which owns the Cley Marshes Nature Reserve, said it was "shocked" by the helicopter crash and said it would be closed on Wednesday to assist with the investigation and out of respect to those who were killed. "Our immediate thoughts are for the families of those who sadly lost their lives," NWT said in a brief statement. The cause of Tuesday`s accident was not immediately known but comes only months after another HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter crashed at U.S. Marine Corps base Camp Hansen on the Japanese island of Okinawa. The crash in August 2013 claimed the life of one crew member while three others were injured. The Pave Hawk helicopter, a highly modified version of the better-known Black Hawk aircraft, is designed to conduct personnel recovery operations in hostile environments. The aircraft is also capable of carrying out search-and-rescue operations. medical evacuation, disaster response, and providing humanitarian assistance.