The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Missouri)
3 September 1969, page 21

COPTER CRASH KILLS 5

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U. S. Air Force Craft on Training Flight in Florida

Milton, Fla. (AP) — Five air-men were killed yesterday when their jet-powered helicopter crashed in a marshy ravine two miles west of Highway 87 near the Yellow River.

The victims, all members of the 4409th Combat Crew Training Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base, were Maj. Leonard F. Ciemniecki, 35, instructor-pilot, of Fort Walton Beach; Sgt. Eddie Hagerman, 40, Fort Walton Beach; Sgt. Gene Lally, 22, Hurlburt Field; Capt. Richard M. Ryan, 26, Portland, Ore., assigned to Eglin on temporary duty from McGuire Air Force Base, N.J.; and Carl E. Troyer, airman, 20, of Plain City, OH.

The UH-1 helicopter was on a routine training mission from Eglin when it apparently struck a 110,000-volt transmission line 65 feet above ground.