2 Nationwide Guard troopers, 1 Border Patrol agent killed in Texas helicopter crash are recognized

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LA GRULLA, Texas — A Nationwide Guard soldier from New York who was significantly injured within the crash of a helicopter flying over the U.S.-Mexico border remained hospitalized Sunday whereas authorities launched the names of the 2 Nationwide Guard troopers and a Border Patrol agent onboard who have been killed.

The three killed Friday within the crash in a discipline in Texas close to Rio Grande Metropolis have been: Chief Warrant Officer 2 Casey Frankoski, 28, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 John Grassia, 30, each with the New York Nationwide Guard; and Border Patrol Agent Chris Luna, 49. The reason for the crash stays beneath investigation.

The UH-72 Lakota helicopter was assigned to the federal authorities’s border safety mission when it went down whereas the helicopter was conducting aviation operations, based on an announcement launched by Joint Process Power North, a navy unit that helps Customs and Border Safety. No different particulars have been offered.

The injured soldier was from the New York Nationwide Guard, based on the Nationwide Guard Bureau. The soldier, whose title is not being launched, was the plane crew chief. The soldier remained hospitalized, based on a information launch posted by the New York State Division of Navy & Naval Affairs.

Maj. Gen. Ray Shields, the adjutant basic of New York, stated within the launch that they’re “shocked and devastated” by the deaths of Frankoski and Grassia, and are “praying for the short restoration” of the injured crew chief.

Troy Miller, appearing commissioner of Customs and Border Safety, stated in an announcement that they have been “heartbroken” by the dying of Luna, who’s survived by his spouse and two kids, mother and father and brother.

Homeland Safety Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas stated in an announcement that they’re hoping for the injured nationwide guardsman’s “swift restoration,” and stated his ideas and the “deepest condolences” of the division have been with the households of these killed.

Grassia, who was a New York state trooper, was from Schenectady, New York, and he enlisted within the New York Military Nationwide Guard in 2013 as a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter upkeep specialist, based on the New York State Division of Navy & Naval Affairs. The discharge stated that Frankoski, of Rensselaer, New York, enlisted within the New York Military Nationwide Guard in 2016 and she or he educated to turn into a UH-60 Black Hawk and UH-72 Lakota helicopter pilot.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul stated in an announcement that she was “deeply saddened” by the deaths of Grassia and Frankoski.

“There isn’t any higher calling than service to and protection of your nation,” she stated.

Frankoski and Grassia have been assigned to Detachment 2, Firm A, 1st Battalion, 244th Aviation Regiment. Luna was assigned to the Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Metropolis Station.

The helicopter that crashed was assigned to the District of Columbia Military Nationwide Guard, based on the New York State Division of Navy & Naval Affairs launch.

The border area is closely patrolled by each state and federal authorities, together with routine aerial surveillance.

In January, a Texas Division of Public Security helicopter patrolling the state’s border with Mexico misplaced energy and crashed, officers stated on the time. The co-pilot suffered a minor hand damage and the helicopter was considerably broken. That helicopter was flying as a part of Operation Lone Star, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s almost $10 billion border mission that has examined the federal authorities’s authority over immigration.

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