Ft. Bragg helicopter crash due to human error
     FORT BRAGG, N.C., (August 29, 1997 4:40 p.m. EDT) - Human error
 was the apparent cause of the July 8 crash of a UH-60L Black Hawk
 helicopter that killed eight soldiers from the elite 82nd Airborne
 Division, the Army said Friday.
     Investigators found no mechanical defects that might have caused
 the crash and concluded that one of the helicopter's rotor blades
 struck a tree as it descended while making a turn, a statement from
 military officials said.
     The helicopter went down in a wooded area near the southwest
 corner of sprawling Fort Bragg, about 20 miles southwest of
 Fayetteville, N.C.
     It burst into flames, blackening the ground for 100 feet around
 the wreckage. The intense fire scorched trees from the ground up.
     "Investigators concluded that the aircraft speed, altitude,
 gross weight and the atmospheric conditions caused a descent while
 executing a right turn in a steep bank," the statement said.
     "This resulted in a rotor blade striking a tree. No mechanical
 defects were discovered which might have caused the crash. The
 weather was excellent and (was) not a contributing factor."
     The pilot was experienced and the crew had flown a mission on
 the same helicopter earlier that day. Preflight inspections were
 normal, officials said.
     "All evidence indicated that the crash occurred very quickly and
 that there was little time to react to the emergency," the statement
 said.
     Officials said it was not possible to determine which of the two
 pilots on board was flying the aircraft at the time.
     It was the worst helicopter disaster at Fort Bragg since 1985,
 when 12 soliers were killed in another Black Hawk crash.
     The 82nd Airborne is one of the United States military's elite
 battle groups. As a result of the investigation, the unit will
 review flight regulations and complete refresher training, officials
 said.
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