Second Lieutenant Zachary Cook

SF-TX · 01-13-2009, 18:47

RIP Sir, and may God grant a speedy recovery to the others.

The 36th CAB supports C/5/19 here in Texas.

Quote:

Soldier killed in helicopter crash ID’d

By David C. Doolittle | Tuesday, January 13, 2009, 05:45 PM

Second Lt. Zachary Cook, 22, from Lufkin was killed Monday when the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter he was in crashed on the Texas A&M campus, a statement from the Texas National Guard said.

Four National Guard soldiers who were also aboard the helicopter remain hospitalized Tuesday, officials in Bryan and College Station said.

Cook was a 2008 Texas A&M graduate and member of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadre at the university.

The injured soldiers are part of the 36th Combat Aviation Brigade, whose headquarters is at Austin’s Camp Mabry, said Col. Bill Meehan, a spokesman for the Texas Army National Guard.

Their names are:

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1st Lt. Wllis Taylor, 31, of Buda
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Chief Warrant Officer Matthew Smith, 41, of Leander
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Sg.t Richard Ravenscraft, 24, of Austin
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Sgt. Charles Mitts, 42, of Spring, near Houston.

Taylor, Ravenscraft and Mitts were taken to College Station Medical Center about 30 minutes after the crash Monday, spokeswoman Melissa Purl said.

Taylor and Ravenscraft are still at the hospital in critical condition, Purl said. Mitts was transferred to Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital in Houston today at the request of his family, Purl said. He was in critical condition when he left College Station, she said.

Cook and Smith were taken to St. Joseph Regional Health Center in Bryan, spokesman Tim Ottinger said. Cook later died at the hospital, he said. Smith was transferred to another hospital, Ottinger said, but he would not say where at the request of the National Guard, he said. Sgt. Jennifer Atkinson, a spokeswoman with the Texas Army National Guard, said it was probably Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.

A student was treated and released at the medical center Monday, Purl said. She did not get his name but said he was hit by flying debris.

The helicopter crashed during field training exercises, Meehan said.

Meehan said Monday that several helicopters all based in Austin had been shuttling cadets to College Station from Camp Swift, a Texas Army National Guard training site north of Bastrop.

The incident is under investigation at the Combat Readiness/Safety Center in Fort Rucker, Ala., home of the U.S. Army Aviation Center, the release said.

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/conte...icopter_c.html

Red Flag 1 · 01-13-2009, 19:26

Rest In Peace Lt. Cook.

Prayers out.

JJ_BPK · 01-13-2009, 19:59

RIP, Vaya con Dios

Loadsmasher · 01-13-2009, 23:28

I know some of the guys in the crash and I talked to a buddy at the State Aviation Office for the Texas NG. I saw him this morning and got an update. The pilots had the standard hard landing injuries to their backs and legs.. The Crew Chief, SGT Mitts is still unconscious.

All they know right now is catastrophic failure of the tail rotor.

Rogue · 01-14-2009, 07:04

Rest in Peace

gagners · 01-14-2009, 08:16

Rest in peace, citizen soldier.

Stras · 01-14-2009, 16:36

RIP 2LT Cook.

A brother QP is the SF Advisor there at Texas A&M. They are thinking catrostrophic failure. Luckily the rest of the ROTC cadets were unharmed in the incident, but are badly shaken by the tragic death of one of their peers.