Army identifies 4 soldiers killed in military helicopter crash in Washington state

Tacoma, Washington – The army released the names of four soldiers killed on Wednesday when the military helicopter that they were crashed near a base in the state of Washington.

The victims are chief adjutants Andrew Cully and Andrew Kraus, and Sergeants Donavon Scott and Jadalyn Good, the army said on a statement on Monday.

Cully, 35, was from Sparta, Missouri. Kraus, 39, was from Sanibel, Florida. Scott, 25, was from Tacoma, Washington, and Good, 23, was from Mount Vernon, Washington.

The helicopter was on a routine flight training west of the joint Lewis-McChord base, according to the command of special operations of the American army.

The base is around 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of Tacoma under the jurisdiction of the headquarters of the joint base of the American army.

The cause of the accident remains under study. The sky of the region was mainly clear with light winds from the south at the time of the accident, according to the National Weather Service.

The soldiers “embodied devotion, altruism and the unwavering excellence which define the very spirit of the special army and army operations,” Colonel Stephen Smith said in the press release.

They were part of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, an elite team that does night missions, when their black Hawk MH-60 helicopter crashed around 9 p.m.

The regiment’s mission is to organize, equip and use the army’s special operations aviation forces around the world, according to the army website.

“Known as Night Stalkers, these soldiers are recognized for their mastery of night operations,” said the website. “They are highly qualified and ready to accomplish the most difficult missions in all environments, all over the world, the day or night, with unequaled precision.”

It was the second fatal accident of this elite unit in recent years.

Five special forces of army aviation operations were killed when a helicopter crashed in the eastern Mediterranean in 2023 during a routine air supply mission in the context of military training. They were all part of the 160th aviation regiment of special army operations based in Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

In March 2024, two soldiers of the joint unit of Soar Lewis-McChord of the base of the base were hospitalized when their Apache helicopter crashed at the base during a routine training exercise.