PHOTOS, VIDEO ADDED: Second day of helicopter drill in southeast West Seattle

| Helicopter | Myers Way | West Seattle news

(WSB PHOTOS BY OLIVER HAMLIN, VIDEO BY TRACY RECORD)

11:06 AM: We’re back at the Joint Training Facility, where day 2 of helicopter rescue training with a Washington National Guard Black Hawk is under way.

So far they’re practicing hoists and lowering over the landing area and will then move to a 5-story building on the west side of the JTF. (Added: Watch below as participants attach themselves to the hoist in a little over :30, then get lifted – you’ll also hear what the propeller-generated wind was like:)

11:55 AM: The helicopter just left for refueling at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, but is expected back. (That’s when the media photo ops ended, so we don’t have visuals of the drill involving the building.)

Willow September 17, 2025 (3:07 pm)

From your post, cn I assume they started at 11 instead of 10? So hopefully they are now done since it’s 3? This might be partly due to other stuff happening in my life but I was way more alarmed by that than I would have thought once I found out it was a drill. Something about the sound of a military helicopter the equivalent of 2 blocks away sent my adrenaline through the roof and I could not get it under control!

WSB September 17, 2025 (5:22 pm)

I’m sorry I don’t know what time they ended, as the media coverage opportunity ended when the helicopter headed out to refuel.

EM September 18, 2025 (7:37 pm)

I just saw an article that a training helicopter crashed yesterday evening. I wonder if it was one of these!

WSB September 18, 2025 (8:02 pm)

Different unit so probably not … active Army in the crash vs. Guard in the drills.
Mike September 19, 2025 (8:16 am)

No, totally different. The one that crashed is the 160th SOAR, considered among the most elite special operations aviation units in the world. The fact they crashed during training is going to be heavily investigated.

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