Investigation into Minnesota National Guard helicopter crash moves forward

The investigation into a Minnesota National Guard helicopter crash that killed three soldiers last month is progressing.

J.T. Coleman, the director of communications for the Army Combat Readiness Center at Fort Rucker in Alabama, confirmed to KSTP that investigators have finished the information gathering phase of the investigation, and are now working on their report.

3 Minnesota National Guard soldiers dead in helicopter crash near St. Cloud

However, Coleman said it will still be several months before a report is released.

The Minnesota National Guard said it lost contact with a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter on the afternoon of Dec. 5, 2019, while the crew was conducting a maintenance test flight. Crews later located the crash site approximately 16 miles southwest of St. Cloud near Marty Township.

3rd National Guard member killed in helicopter crash laid to rest Monday

All three crew members on the aircraft were killed. They were identified as Chief Warrant Officer 2 James A. Rogers Jr., 28, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Charles P. Nord, 30, and Warrant Officer Candidate Kort M. Plantenberg, 28.

No cause of the crash has been released at this time.