3 Foreign Nationals (Americans) killed in AAR Afghan Helicopter Crash

Three American private contractors working for the Defense Department were killed when their helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan on Monday, their company said. The contractors’ company, AAR Airlift, said that there were no other passengers on the helicopter and that the cause of the crash was not yet known

James Scott Ozier  Todd Walker  Michael Clawson

AAR Press Release via MsSparky

AAR Airlift Reports Helicopter Accident in Afghanistan

WOOD DALE, ILLINOIS (January 16, 2012) – AAR Airlift, an operating unit of Chicago based AAR CORP. (NYSE: AIR) reports that a helicopter carrying a crew of three employees was involved in an accident in Helmand Province, Afghanistan at approximately 10:45 a.m., local time, January 16, while conducting operations for the U.S. Department of Defense.

The Company has confirmed that there were three crew member fatalities. The families of all three crew members have been contacted. The Company reports that no passengers were aboard the aircraft at the time of the accident.

Company officials are working closely and cooperating fully with authorities in Afghanistan and stateside. A recovery effort is underway and the cause of the accident is unknown. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available.

The Company is focused on its employees and their families. A dedicated hotline has been set up for employees and family members at (321) 837-2427 for updates and support information

Update from Monsters and Critics

Kandahar, Afghanistan – A civilian helicopter crashed in the southern Afghan province of Helmand Monday, killing all three foreign nationals on board, the authorities said.

A security official who confirmed the three deaths, but could not verify the nationalities of the victims, said: ‘The helicopter was completely destroyed by the impact and subsequent fire.’

The Russian-made helicopter belonged to the US-based ARR airlift company, a contractor for NATO’s operations in Afghanistan.

Dozens of Russian-built cargo helicopters are used by contractors working for the NATO-led coalition.

The coalition relies heavily on helicopters or airdrops to deliver food and other supplies to remote outposts in order to avoid using roads that are frequently mined by the insurgents. Transport aircraft are also frequently used for airdrops to isolated bases.

Associated Press  January 16, 2012

KABUL, Afghanistan — A civilian helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan on Monday, killing all three people on board, an Afghan official said.

Marjan Haqmal, police chief of Nad Ali district in Helmand province, said the Russian-made aircraft probably went down because of a technical malfunction.

NATO confirmed that a civilian helicopter crashed Monday in southern Afghanistan. It said the site of the crash has been secured and that coalition forces are trying to gather more information about what happened.

The alliance did not provide information about casualties

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