Shelbyville soldier injured in chopper crash

SHELBYVILLE, Ind. (WISH) - A black hawk helicopter crash in Iraq injured a Shelbyville soldier over the weekend.

Sgt. Mike Strange was one of 12 people injured. According to the Department of Defense, one person died in the crash.

The UH-60 Black Hawk went down Saturday night at the Balad Air Base, about 50 miles north of Baghdad.

The cause of the crash is under investigation but weather may have been a factor.

The helicopter went down on a night of high winds that whipped up a sandstorm.

Sgt. Strange is a member of Charlie Company, 1-137 Assault Helicopter Battalion based in Shelbyville.

His unit deployed to Iraq in March.

Friends said Sgt. Strange did not sustain any life threatening injuries.

“On a helicopter crash if all you’re walking away with is injuries that probably won’t affect you later in life, that’s good news. It’s a catastrophic event for people inside. The black hawk is well designed in crash worthiness and it’s very survivable in many cases on crashes,” said SFC John Antle, Indiana National Guard

Sgt. Strange is in charge of training crew chiefs in his battalion in Iraq.

The helicopter that crashed was not part of the Shelbyville based aviation battalion.

According to the Indiana National Guard, it appears no other Indiana soldiers were on board that black hawk.