National Guard Helicopter Crashes Near Southern Border; 3 Dead After

A National Guard helicopter flies over the damaged by the recent flash floods area in Columbia, S.C., on Oct. 5, 2015. (Mladen Antonov/AFP via Getty Images)

A National Guard helicopter crashed near the U.S.–Mexico border in Texas on March 8, leaving three people dead, according to authorities.

A UH-72 Lakota helicopter assigned to the federal southwest border support mission crashed while conducting aviation operations near Rio Grande City, Texas, the Joint Task Force North (JTFN) said in a statement.

“Two soldiers and one U.S. Border Patrol agent were killed,” JTFN stated, noting that another soldier was injured.

“The names of the deceased will not be released until the next of kin have been notified.”

The Starr County Sheriff’s Office said in a post on Facebook that it’s assisting with a “downed helicopter incident” on the east side of the county.

Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Christopher Olivarez said the crash occurred in the small town of La Grulla. He didn’t provide further details and referred questions to Customs and Border Protection officials, who didn’t respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) expressed sympathy for the victims and their families.

“My team and I are currently monitoring the tragic National Guard helicopter crash near Rio Grande City,” Mr. Cruz wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“The brave men and women of the National Guard and USBP risk their lives each and every day—we are a better state and nation thanks to their selfless service to Texas and America.”

La Grulla is in Texas’s Rio Grande Valley.

Last month, all helicopter units of the Army National Guard were ordered grounded because of two crashes, one of which resulted in the deaths of two guardsmen. The incident occurred in Mississippi, while the other crash happened in Utah on Feb. 12, leaving one pilot each from the Army National Guard and the Air Force in the hospital.

The affected units will resume operations after a review of safety policies and procedures, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said at the time.

Also in February, five Marines were killed when their helicopter crashed in California.

The stand-downs initiated in February came less than a year after the Army imposed its own stand-downs after a midair collision of two helicopters in Alaska left three people dead.

In November 2023, another Army helicopter crashed in the Mediterranean, killing five. Likewise, there were two other crashes in southern California last year, one of which left five Marines dead.

Training incidents resulting in fatalities aren’t uncommon in the U.S. military. The military has experienced countless aircraft crashes during training exercises throughout its history. It is rare for the military to go a single year without at least one such accident.

The number of servicemembers killed in helicopter accidents appears to be increasing. At least 30 died last year.

Andrew Thornebrooke and The Associated Press contributed to this report.