BANDA ACEH, Indonesia - A U.S. helicopter with 10 people on board crashed in a rice paddy as it was trying to land at the Banda Aceh airport Monday while on a tsunami-relief operation, injuring at least two U.S. servicemen, a U.S. military spokesman said.
The injured men, along with eight other Navy personnel, were being flown back to their ship in the Lincoln battle group, said Capt. Joe Plenzler, a U.S. military spokesman in Medan, 250 miles southeast of Banda Aceh.
The SH60 helicopter crashed in a rice paddy about 500 yards from the airport in Banda Aceh, the main city on Indonesia's tsunami-battered Sumatra island, as it was trying to land, he said.
"There was no fire ball but a little smoke. It landed on its side," Plenzler said, adding that the helicopter's propeller was twisted from the impact.
U.S. authorities said there was no indication the helicopter had been shot down.
Authorities quickly cordoned off the area and U.S. officials began searching the field around the crash site, apparently for debris.
The airport at Banda Aceh "is still functioning and the crash shouldn't effect relief operations," Plenzler said.
The helicopter was flying in personnel to the airport from the USS Abraham Lincoln group off the coast of Sumatra, he said.
"We can rule out ground fire, but until there is investigation the determination of the cause of the accident can't be made," Plenzler said.
Security concerns were heightened Sunday when a shooting incident occurred outside a United Nations compound in Banda Aceh. Local police blamed the shooting on separatist rebels who operate in the area, but nobody was injured and aid officials said they did not believe relief workers were targeted.
