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WASHINGTON, Jan. 13, 2006 – Two U.S. Army pilots died today when their OH-58D Kiowa helicopter went down in Mosul, Iraq, just outside of Forward Operating Base Courage, military officials in Baghdad reported.
Officials said the aircraft was conducting a combat air patrol with another OH-58D in an area where hostile fire was reported shortly before it went down. The aircrew's wingman provided aerial cover while ground units from the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team and the Iraqi police responded to the downed aircraft and cordoned off the area. The cause of the crash is under investigation, and the pilots' names are being withheld until next of kin notification, officials said. The Defense Department has announced the identities of a soldier and a civilian employee killed recently while supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom: - Sgt. Michael J. McMullen, 25, of Salisbury, Md., died Jan. 10 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington from injuries suffered in a Dec. 24 roadside bomb explosion in Ramadi. He was assigned to the Army National Guard's 243rd Engineer Company in Baltimore.
- Darren D. Braswell, 36, of Riverdale, Ga., died Jan. 7 in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crash near Tal Afar. Braswell worked for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service. He was one of four civilian passengers on the helicopter.
The department on Jan. 11 identified the eight servicemembers killed in the crash. (Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Defense Department news releases.)
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