Helikopterhavari - Black Hawk down i Minnesota - Curt Lewis video

Aviation experts weigh in on Minnesota National Guard helicopter crash The investigation into why a Minnesota National Guard helicopter crashed on Thursday is now underway. "This isn't the first helicopter accident I've seen from the air, but it's one of the more tragic ones," Ken Melchior said. He has been a helicopter pilot for more than 30 years and has flown Chopper 5 for about 25 years. The UH-60 Black Hawk crashed in a rural area with farm fields all around. "If they had full control of that aircraft, like in an emergency landing with engine failure, they had all kinds of places to set down and terminate the flight without any damage at all," Melchior said. "But they went right down into a small cluster of trees, smack dab in the middle of it. That tells me that the pilot or copilot had little to no control of that aircraft just before impact. "The first thing I would look at as an accident investigator is the tail rotor system because that is absolutely crucial to directional control of the machine." Melchior said there also could've been a problem with the flight controls. He believes the mayday call could provide some insight into what happened, so could any recording devices on board. Video here.