St. Clair: Helicopter, returned to Kogalniceanu Base; no speculation into cause until investigation is complete

A Black Hawk helicopter that had to resort to precautionary landing on Thursday in Charles de Gaulle Square in Bucharest will be returned to the Mihail Kogalniceanu military base, and the American side will not speculate into a cause until the investigation is complete, Major Matthew St. Clair told AGERPRES on Friday.

"The UH-60 helicopter was removed from the landing site and transported to a local hanger yesterday with the support from the local Romanian authorities. The aircraft will be returned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment, headquartered in Mihail Kogalniceanu. We are thankful for the support of the Romanian government as well as the local authorities that assisted in the securing of the site and the safe recovery of the aircraft," said St. Clair.

He added that there is an active investigation into the precautionary landing that is being conducted by both the U.S. and Romanian governments together. "We will not speculate into a cause until the investigation is complete," said St. Clair.

According to the official response of the US Army, aircrew of the UH-60 "performed admirably in this situation." "Along with the support of the local police on the ground, the crew was able to land the helicopter safely with no reported injuries," added St. Clair.

"This is testament to the training our crews receive as well as the interoperability and partnership we have with Romania and our NATO allies. By training and working together, we are better able to prevent or react to situations like these, preventing loss of life or injury," he said.

According to St. Clair, the 1st Combat Aviation Brigade in Europe consists of approximately 2,000 personnel, 10 CH-47 Chinooks, 25 AH-64 Apaches, 50 UH/HH Black Hawks, and more than 1,800 wheeled vehicles and pieces of equipment.

The UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter that resorted to precautionary landing was rehearsing for a Romania's Air Force Day air show.