MENDON, N.Y. — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is calling for a federal investigation following a last month’s deadly helicopter crash just outside Rochester, and a second crash in Idaho weeks later. Six guardsmen were killed in those crashes.
Schumer wants investigators to look into the safety of Army and Air National Guard Vertical Lift Programs. He says a report by the National Commission on Military Aviation Safety found that, since 2013, 186 aircrafts have been destroyed, and people have been killed in non-combat-related mishaps.
Schumer sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office saying, in part:
"While I fully support the Army's investigations into the accidents, when it comes to the safety of our service members, like these six National Guard members who gave their lives for their county, we must adhere to a higher standard of examination and transparency and get to the bottom of why these crashes happened."