Created: January 22, 2021 05:44 PM
MENDON, N.Y. (WHEC) Two of the New York Army National Guard members who lost their lives in the helicopter crash in Mendon on Wednesday, grew up in other parts of the state, but had made Rochester their permanent home.
Chief Warrant Officer Steve Skoda is from Johnstown, New York. He was a 35-year veteran of the Army and the New York Army National Guard. He flew UH-1 helicopters for nearly 30 years and as a senior instructor pilot taught and mentored hundreds of other soldiers. He was twice deployed to Afghanistan.
“He was, to my estimation, with everything that has gone on with our country lately, he was the embodiment of a real American, a real patriot. He dedicated his whole life to flying all over the country rescuing people and he believed in it. He didn t have to go to Afghanistan two years ago, he was the senior man but he felt it was his duty and he went and he went for a year at age 54,” Skoda’s friend and neighbor
MENDON, New York (WABC) The U.S. Army has identified the three National Guard members who were killed in a helicopter crash during a training exercise after the remains of the troops were recovered from the rural upstate New York crash site, including one who was a native of Orange County.
The UH-60 Black Hawk medical evacuation helicopter crashed in a farmer s field in rural Mendon, south of Rochester, around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. There were no survivors.
The aircraft and crew was assigned to C Company of the 1st Battalion, 171st General Support Aviation Battalion. The unit trains to perform aeromedical evacuation, and the crew had been conducting night vision goggle proficiency training in the local training area.
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.”
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
MENDON, New York (WABC) The U.S. Army has identified the three National Guard members who were killed in a helicopter crash during a training exercise after the remains of the troops were recovered from the rural upstate New York crash site, including one who was a native of Orange County.
The UH-60 Black Hawk medical evacuation helicopter crashed in a farmer s field in rural Mendon, south of Rochester, around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. There were no survivors.
The aircraft and crew was assigned to C Company of the 1st Battalion, 171st General Support Aviation Battalion. The unit trains to perform aeromedical evacuation, and the crew had been conducting night vision goggle proficiency training in the local training area.