Orange County soldier identified as 1 of the 3 people killed in helicopter crash
News 12 Staff
Updated on:Jan 22, 2021, 5:42pm EST
A solider from Orange County was among the three people killed in a military helicopter crash Wednesday, according to the National Guard.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Daniel Prial, from Warwick, was killed along with Chief Warrant Officer 5 Steven Skoda and Chief Warrant Officer 4 Christian Koch.
Military officials say the three soldiers belonged to a medical evacuation unit whose mission is to pick up casualties on the battlefield and transport them to military medical facilities.
According to military officials, the UH-60 Black Hawk medical evacuation helicopter flew out of the Army Aviation Support Facility at Rochester International Airport Wednesday night.
33 ROCHESTER, NY Three New York Army National Guard pilots were killed on January 20, when a UH-60 medical evacuation helicopter crashed in the town of Mendon, New York on the night of January 20, 2021.
Killed were: Chief Warrant Officer 5 Steven Skoda, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Christian Koch and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Daniel Prial.
The three Soldiers were conducting night vision goggle proficiency training.
The three were members of C Company of the 1st Battalion, 171st General Support Aviation Battalion, based at the Army Aviation Support Facility at the Rochester International Airport.
“These brave and dedicated Americans died while training for the noblest mission in the Army - that of search and rescue,” Major General Ray Shields, the Adjutant General said in an email to the force. “They lost their lives while training to save others.”
January 22, 2021
The Malvern Prep swimming team is preparing to dive into the pool for the winter 2021 season, led by All-American junior diver Nick Harris, who was the Inter-Ac, National Catholic and Easterns 1-meter diving champion in 2020.
Harris won by a comfortable margin at Easterns, compiling 567.25 points, comfortably ahead of second-place finisher Rowland Lawver of Hun School (442.45). His favorite memory of the 2019-20 Malvern Prep swimming season was at National Catholics.
Malvern, PA. Jan.13. : Malvern Prep’s Nick Harris performs a back somersault with a tuck Wednesday during practice. (PETE BANNAN – MNG)
“I really enjoy that meet because the diving is at the same place as the swimming, and I’m with my teammates,” said Harris. “I also faced good competition there.”
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One of three New York Army National Guard soldiers killed in a helicopter crash this week was a Hudson Valley native.
Chief Warrant Officer Two Daniel Prial, age 30, of Warwick in Orange County, was killed on Wednesday, Jan. 20, when the UH-60 medical evacuation helicopter based at the Army Aviation Support Facility at Rochester International Airport crashed in the Town of Mendon, which is about 17 miles south of Rochester, while on a routine training mission, killing all three pilots who were on board, said Colonel Richard Goldenberg the New York National Guard Public Affairs Officer.
Prial, a graduate of Warwick High School, had served in the Army since 2012 after earning a commission at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
MENDON â The three National Guard soldiers killed in a helicopter crash in the town of Mendon, Monroe County, on Wednesday night have been identified.
They were Chief Warrant Officer 5 Steven Skoda, 54, of Rochester, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Christian Koch, 39, of Honeoye Falls, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Daniel Prial, 30, of Rochester, according to the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs,
âThese Soldiers were a part of our National Guard family and we mourn their loss, alongside their family members and loved ones,â said Col. Richard Goldenberg the New York National Guard public affairs officer. âThe New York National Guard will be there for these family members as they navigate these trying times. Our chaplains and casualty assistance officers will be with them whenever needed. Our service members wish to extend their heartfelt thanks to the members of law enforcement, first responders, and the community at large for their support and sympath