Chopper Crashes On College Campus

Army Blackhawk Helicopter BREAKING NEWS- The Army Blackhawk helicopter crashed this afternoon in a field at Texas A&M. One person has been killed.

by CBS News

Published: Mon, January 12, 2009 - 4:53 pm CST Last Updated: Mon, January 12, 2009 - 6:40 pm CST

One person was killed and four others were injured after an Army Blackhawk
helicopter crashed Monday into a field near the Corps of Cadets quad on the
campus of Texas A&M University.

The Army UH-60 Blackhawk had a crew of five on board, including four members
of the Army National Guard and one member of the ROTC staff at Texas A&M who
is a recent graduate, according to Texas A&M officials. The helicopter was
reportedly taking off with the crew on board when it fell abruptly back to the
ground around 3 p.m.

The identity of the person killed has not been released.

Some of the injured were taken to St. Joseph Regional Health Center in Bryan,
others to the College Station Medical Center. Their names and conditions are
unknown.

Multiple law enforcement agencies are on the scene at Duncan Field where the
crash took place.

A Code Maroon, which is the university's emergency alert system, was activated
Monday afternoon, notifying students of the crash.

The Texas Department of Public Safety or the Army will be taking command of
the scene, according to CSFD.

Fires were spotted according to KBTX crews on the scene just after they
arrived.

Blockades have been put in place as a result.

KBTX reports about 1:30 p.m., there were five helicopters sitting on the
campus, with three at one point taking off together and flying away. An hour
later, around 2:30 p.m., two were still on the ground, with one about to take
off.

The helicopter, along with 190 cadets in the university's Corps of Cadets, was
participating in the ROTC Winter Field Training Exercises taking place at the
university.

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