U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter crashes in Colorado with four crew aboard

A U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Colorado on Tuesday, carrying four crew members. The status of the crew and the cause of the crash remain unknown, according to the latest reports .

Initial accounts described the helicopter making an unplanned landing in a wooded area in the foothills west of Denver. Four people were aboard, and early reports indicated no injuries .

The incident follows a separate aviation mishap involving a Marine Corps F-18 Hornet in Washington state on June 13, 2026. Marine Corps Maj. Jackson Simon ejected from the aircraft before it crashed into a forest near Rimrock Lake, sparking a small wildfire. Simon, captured on bodycam footage, appeared composed despite a bloodied face, telling a Yakima County sheriff’s deputy, “I’m a little frazzled” .

Former TOPGUN pilot Matthew “Whiz” Buckley, who flew F-18 Hornets during a 15-year U.S. Navy career, told Fox News Digital that ejection is an extremely violent maneuver, often resulting in severe physical tolls. Buckley noted that pilots can lose height due to spinal compression and may suffer major injuries, with a meta-analysis of 1,710 military aircrew ejections showing a 10.5% mortality rate and 29.8% major injury rate across studies published between 1971 and 2019. He described the forces involved as 10 to 20 G’s, adding that many pilots remember only pulling the handle and later waking up in their parachute .

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration separately reported that an antenna was relocated following a safety incident involving Marine One, the Marine Corps helicopters used to transport the U.S. president .