SSgt. Charles Mitts and 2LT Zachary Cook '08

RedAnimal12

Joined: Nov 28, 2011

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On January 12, 2009, at approximately 1500 hrs an Army National Guard Blackhawk crashed on Duncan Field. The aircraft was assigned to transport cadets from campus to Camp Swift for the Rudder's Rangers Winter FTX. Of the five crew members on the aircraft, two perished. They were SSgt Charles Mitts and 2LT Zachary Cook '08.

Charles Mitts Obituary (2009) - Houston, TX - Houston Chronicle (legacy.com)

Zachary Cook Obituary (2009) - Lufkin, TX - The Lufkin Daily News (legacy.com)

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

Rest easy, brothers.

9

OldArmyCT

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5:10a, 1/11/23

AG

Here is the cause as reported by the accident board:
A/C crashed after takeoff at 1500 hours on the Texas A&M Campus (Duncan Field) while on a routine transport mission shuttling ROTC personnel to an annual training exercise at Camp Swift. A/C was about to go to Easterwood Airport for refueling and was at approx 100-150' AGL when it began to spin left uncontrollably, lost altitude and hit the ground. An unidentified T/R malfunction was determined to be the cause. Crew attempted to land the A/C in LZ to reduce collateral damage, injury or loss of life rather than flying out over populated area. *SGT Mitts died 2 days later of injuries.
http://www.armyaircrews.com/blackhawk.html

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txaggie_06

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11:14a, 1/11/23

AG

I remember when 2LT Cook was a fish.. We had in the hall playing his guitar behind his back. That and sending him to mess with his brother. Great guy.

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GarryowenAg

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12:14p, 1/21/23

AG

Zac was my upperclassman in D-1 and in the cav. It was a tragic event.

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