Officials believe midair collision to blame for accident that killed 12

The information is included in one of two brief reports provided to the families of those who died in the Sept. 4 accident. The Air Force released the reports Monday.

At the time of the accident, 12 members of the 66th Rescue Squadron - six in each HH-60G Pave Hawk aircraft - were navigating through the desert darkness in a mock rescue of a stranded airman.

According to investigators, the main rotor blades from one of the two helicopters appears to have struck the right side of the other aircraft.

"The investigation indicates that a midair collision occurred," according to the report. The wreckage was located just above the base of the 6,500-foot-high Quartz Peak.

Few other details were provided.

Investigators noted there is no evidence the engines failed prior to the collision. And an analysis of the flight controls of each helicopter was inconclusive because of heavy damage.

Nellis spokesman Mike Estrada said Air Force officials would not elaborate on the information supplied to families. He said the final report on the crash is expected to be released in December.

In the past, the families of airmen killed in such crashes learned of their loved ones' final moments by reading the final report.

"They had to wait like everybody else," Estrada said. "They were kind of in limbo."

The Air Force began drafting changes to this policy about two years ago. This is the first accident in which families receive periodic reports on the progress of the investigation.

Air Force regulations require that no Nellis officers serve on the board investigating the accident. In trying to determine what happened and why, investigators may involve experts in relevant fields.

In one of the reports to the families of the late airmen, investigators say portions of the aircraft have been sent to various locations for further analysis.

Sikorsky Aircraft has been asked to examine part of the main rotor blade believed to have struck the other helicopter.

Sikorsky, located in Stratford, Conn., began making the Pave Hawks in the 1980s and has sold 99 of them so far to the Air Force, a company spokesman said in September.

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