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Manchester native among 2 killed in Friday helicopter crash at Fort Campbell

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Ryan Connolly, 37, was an instructor pilot from Manchester, Missouri. He was killed in Friday's crash.
Credit: U.S. Army
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Ryan Connolly

The Army has identified two soldiers who were killed Friday night in an AH-64E Apache helicopter crash near Fort Campbell.

The men, both members of the 101st Airborne Division’s “Destiny” Brigade, were Chief Warrant Officer 3 Ryan Connolly, 37, an instructor pilot, and Warrant Officer James Casadona, 28, a pilot.

The cause of the incident was still under investigation, the Army said. The crew was doing routine training at the time.

“The Destiny Brigade has suffered a great tragedy and our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the deceased,” said Col. Craig Alia, commander, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division.

Background: 2 soldiers killed in helicopter crash during routine training at Fort Campbell

Connolly, who joined Army in 2001 and arrived at Fort Campbell in 2016, was from Manchester, Missouri; Casadona, who joined the Army in 2012 and arrived at Fort Campbell earlier this year, was from Marine Corps Base Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

Credit: U.S. Army, Custom
Warrant Officer James Casadona

In the worst helicopter accident at Fort Campell, in 1988, 17 soldiers died in a midair collision of two Blackhawks on a nighttime training mission.

Friday’s crash was one of a spate of recent accidents involving military aircraft, Army Times reported.

On March 14, two Navy aviators were killed when their F/A-18F Super Hornet crashed during a training flight in Florida. A day later, seven airmen were killed when their HH-60 Pave Hawk crashed in western Iraq during a routine transit flight.

On April 3, two more crashes occurred. A Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier crashed during takeoff in Djibouti; the pilot ejected and survived. Later that day, a Marine Corps CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter crashed during a training flight in California, killing the four crew members on board.

And on April 4, an F-16 from the Air Force’s Thunderbirds crashed near Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, killing the pilot.

Andrew Wolfson: 502-582-7189; awolfson@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @adwolfson. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/andreww

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