BOISE, Idaho – Officials with the Idaho National Guard on Thursday identified three pilots killed two days earlier in a helicopter crash near Boise.
Officials said 43-year-old Chief Warrant Officer 4 Jesse Anderson, 39-year-old Chief Warrant Officer 3 George “Geoff” Laubhan, and 43-year-old Chief Warrant Officer 3 Matthew Peltzer died Tuesday night while piloting a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during a routine training flight.
No other people were on the helicopter, authorities said.
Anderson, who joined the Idaho National Guard in 2008, served as a senior instructor pilot. Officials said he is survived by his wife and four children.
Laubhan, who joined the Idaho Army National Guard in 2019, also served as an instructor pilot. He is survived by his wife and two children.
Officials said Petlzer was a pilot who joined the Idaho National Guard in 2005. He is survived by his wife and two children.
Col. Christopher Burt, the Idaho Army National Guard’s state aviation officer, said officials last contacted the helicopter at 7:45 p.m. Tuesday night. About 15 minutes later, the helicopter’s emergency transmitter locator device was activated, authorities said.
Officials launched a search and rescue effort a short while later. Around 12:15 a.m. Wednesday, search crews found the downed helicopter and the missing pilots, according to authorities.
>> Related: 3 Idaho National Guard pilots killed in helicopter crash
“The sudden and tragic loss of three of our fellow Guardsmen is extremely heartbreaking to every member of our Idaho National Guard family,” Maj. Gen. Michael Garshak, adjutant general of Idaho and commander of the Idaho National Guard, said Thursday in a statement.
“I have received numerous messages of condolence from many people here in Idaho and throughout the nation, and all of your thoughts, prayers and support are sincerely appreciated and much needed. It is very comforting, at such a challenging time, to have the care and support of so many.”
The cause of Tuesday’s crash remained unknown Thursday. Authorities continue to investigate.
