A recent Texas A&M University graduate has been identified as the victim killed in the crash of an Army Black Hawk helicopter on the A&M campus.
Friends of 22-year-old Zachary Cook of Lufkin say he had dreamed of flying helicopters and was celebrating his recent Army commission.
He was killed when the UH-60 helicopter in which he was flying crashed yesterday afternoon near the Corps of Cadets field on the campus. The other four people aboard were injured in the crash. They were a crew from the Texas Army National Guard.
The Guard identifies the injured as 31-year-old 1st Lt. Ellis W. Taylor of Buda, 41-year-old Chief Warrant Officer 2 Matthew J. Smith of Leander; 24-year-old Sgt. Richard D. Ravenscraft of Austin; and 42-year-old Sgt. Charles C. Mitts of Spring.
Guard officials say Smith and Mitts are hospitalized in critical condition, while Taylor and Ravenscraft are in stable condition.
The Black Hawk crashed shortly after takeoff during a routine training exercise at Duncan Field on the university campus.
