According to the Washington Times, the UH-1N Huey helicopter was completing a routine training flight before it was forced to make an emergency landing at the Manassas Regional Airport in northern Virginia. The aircraft is assigned to the 1st Helicopter Squadron at Joint Base Andrews in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
The incident was first reported by McClatchyDC, which also confirmed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is currently looking into the incident. The FBI confirmed to McClatchyDC that it “dispatched Special Agents and its Evidence Response Team to the Manassas Airport after receiving reports that a helicopter was shot at from the ground nearby.”
A Manassas Regional Airport operations officer also confirmed to the publication that the airport received a call shortly after noon on Monday stating that a “military helicopter was inbound and that the paramedics were on the way.”
The injured crew member, whose identity has not been publicly released, was transported to a local hospital for a non-life-threatening injury and has since been released from the facility.
“The FBI Washington Field Office is working jointly with our law enforcement partners, including the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident. One individual in the helicopter sustained a non-threatening injury, for which he was treated and subsequently released from the hospital,” the FBI said in a statement obtained by McClatchyDC, requesting that anyone with any information about the incident contact the agency.
The US Air Force’s 316th Wing, which is the host wing for Joint Base Andrews, confirmed that an incident had occurred involving one of its choppers in a Monday statement.
“A UH-1N Huey helicopter assigned to the 1st Helicopter Squadron at Joint Base Andrews conducted an emergency landing at 12:43 pm on August 10th in Manassas, Va during a routine training mission,” the statement read, NBC reported.
“The Office of Special Investigations (OSI) is fully engaged with our FBI colleagues on this incident. OSI take threats to our Airmen and our resources very seriously. As this is an ongoing investigation, no further investigative details can be released at this time,” the statement added.
