Alabama Soldier One of Victims Identified in Hawaii Helicopter Crash

HONOLULU, HI — A search was called off Monday for five soldiers who disappeared when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed in the ocean last week off the coast of Hawaii., as the soldiers have now been identified. One of the soldiers was Chief Warrant Officer 3 Brian M. Woeber, 41, of Decatur, Ala.

According to a report by the Associated Press, the Army, Coast Guard, Navy and local Hawaiian agencies conducted a massive search, but strong currents pushed the wreckage into a deep-water search area spanning 72,000 nautical miles.

Two Black Hawk helicopter crews were conducting training off the western tip of Oahu the night of Aug. 15 when one aircrew lost contact with the crew whose helicopter went missing. When the pilot on the lead helicopter realized the other aircraft was missing, he immediately turned his helicopter around and began to search, Cavoli said. But he later determined he didn't have the equipment he needed to launch a professional search so he alerted the Coast Guard, Cavoli said.

In addition to Woeber, the other soldiers involved in the crash were 1st Lt. Kathryn M. Bailey, 26, of Hope Mills, North Carolina; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Stephen T. Cantrell, 32, of Wichita Falls, Texas; Staff Sgt. Abigail R. Milam, 33, of Jenkins, Kentucky; and Sgt. Michael L. Nelson, 30, of Antioch, Tennessee. (For more information on the helicopter crash and other stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

"Our five soldiers who represent the best and the brightest of America have not been found," said Maj. Gen. Christopher Cavoli, commander of the 25th Infantry Division in a statement to the Associated Press. The families of the missing soldiers were told Monday the search and rescue operation was ending, Cavoli said.

During the search, the Army and Coast Guard held joint briefings with family members every six hours to keep them informed, Cavoli said. The fact that parts of the fuselage were found indicated the helicopter's impact with the ocean was substantial, said Mario Vittone, a retired Coast Guardsman and expert on sea survival.

Read the Associated Press story on the crash here.

By CATHY BUSSEWITZ, Associated Press
Photo credit: Marco Garcia/Associated Press; U.S. Coast Guard photo via AP