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Idaho Guard pilots caught in rain, fog before fatal February crash

By Dan Parsons | March 8, 2021

Estimated reading time 6 minutes, 43 seconds.

While flying through the Idaho mountains in February, National Guard pilots accidentally flew their UH-60 Black Hawk into thick fog and rain, blinding their view of the surrounding mountains, according to a preliminary investigation into the mishap.

Without visual reference to the ground and unable to climb free of the ridge line, the helicopter smashed into rocky terrain on Feb. 2, killing all three Idaho Army National Guard aviators aboard.

The Idaho National Guard hosted a memorial Feb. 9, 2021 in honor of three pilots were killed Feb. 2 when their UH-60 Black Hawk crashed outside of Boise. U.S. National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Becky Vanshur

Having inadvertently flown into thick foul weather, the pilots immediately implemented inadvertent instrument meteorological conditions (IIMC) procedures but hit the ground only 14 seconds later, according to the investigation conducted by a Safety Investigation Board at the Army’s aviation headquarters in Fort Rucker, Alabama. 

Weather played a significant role in the crash, but the “primary cause of the accident was the crew’s inability to successfully complete an emergency procedure before impacting the ground,” Col. Chris Burt, the Idaho Army National Guard’s state aviation officer, said during a March 5 press conference

The crash in Idaho, coupled with a January UH-60 crash that killed three New York Guard aviators, drew the attention of Congress. Several lawmakers have called for an inquiry into the UH-60M’s operational health, however the preliminary investigation into the Idaho crash showed no mechanical failure or anomalies.

“During the investigation, it was determined that there were no mechanical factors that contributed to the accident,” Burt said. “The aircraft performed normally and there were no indications that the crew experienced any mechanical issues at any time during the flight. It was also determined that all aircraft inspections and required maintenance were current and that the unit’s maintenance programs and procedures were deemed healthy and fully functional.”

Chief Warrant Officer 4 Jesse Anderson, Chief Warrant Officer 3 George “Geoff” Laubhan and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Matthew Peltzer were conducting a routine training flight south of Lucky Peak near the state capital Boise on Feb. 2.

As the helicopter turned for home at Gowen Field, visibility degraded rapidly, obscuring the crew’s view of the ground and forcing them to rely on the instruments inside the aircraft to maintain control. Only 14 seconds later, the aircraft smashed into the mountainside, destroying the aircraft and killing all three Guard soldiers aboard.

“As helicopter pilots, one of the most difficult and dangerous emergency procedures that we can be exposed to is inadvertent IMC,” Burt said. “The crew initiated the procedure appropriately while maintaining excellent crew coordination, however, the crew was unable to successfully establish a rate of climb that would allow the aircraft to clear the rising terrain and the ridgeline.” 

The crew had departed Gowen Field at 6:50 p.m. on Feb. 2. The flight would consist of standardization evaluations, night vision goggles training and a 9-Line medevac training scenario. During this flight, Laubhan, in his instructor pilot capacity, was conducting a flight evaluation of Peltzer, Burt said. Simultaneously, Anderson was conducting a standardization evaluation of Laubhan. Peltzer was in the right front seat, Laubhan was in the left front seat and Anderson was in the right crewchief station facing out the right side of the aircraft.

Peltzer was at the controls before entering IMC and as soon as he announced that he had lost his visual references, Laubhan, as pilot in command and instructor pilot on the mission, immediately assumed control of the aircraft, according to the Guard statement.

Army National Guard helicopters are regularly called out to conduct search-and-rescue operations and other missions and seldom in ideal weather conditions. For that reason crews regularly train to deal with flying in foul weather, Burt said. 

“It’s critical to train to a level commensurate with how we’re expected to perform,” Burt said. “As an aviation community, we do our best to implement cautions and controls that will provide the most realistic training without increased risk to our crew members.”

“IIMC is a procedure that we brief before each and every flight and we regularly train for in simulated conditions,” he added. “When we train in the simulator, almost every flight period includes an IIMC scenario. While that training is valuable, it does not truly replicate the dangers of a real world IIMC emergency. The most effective way to survive an IIMC emergency is simply to not enter that environment in the first place; however, this is not always possible.”

The Idaho aviation group had been grounded since Feb. 3 but started flying again last week with a limited flight schedule. The group has since resumed search-and-rescue responsibilities within the state.

“In future weeks, we will continue to ramp up our flight schedule in order to meet our state and federal mission requirements,” Burt said. 

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2 Comments

  1. My deep condolences to the relatives and close friends of the pilots.
    Nevertheless, I must say that I strongly disagree with the term “inadvertently” use in cases like that.
    Usually, the pilots are adverted several times before putting themselves into IMC.
    During the mission planning, weather forecasts advert them that the meteorological conditions are no good, but they keep going. Before takeoff, they see that the ceiling is too low and visibility is poor, but they takeoff even so. And worst, with no EDP, defined.
    During the flight, the ceiling comes down, they fly lower, the visibility decrease, they reduce their speed…Then, suddenly (I don’t think so) they are “inadvertently” flying under IMC?!?!
    I would name it an Unplanned IMC or an Unintentional IMC, but not inadvertent IMC.

  2. “accidentally flew their UH-60 Blackhawk into thick for and rain” So the accident is flying into fog!!! Why would a VFR pilot fly into fog? It is pretty obvious if you fly into fog…you die. It is just that simple. You don’t need studies, you don”t need politicians, you don’t need terrain awareness …..you just need common sense.

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