AUSTIN, Texas — A state police helicopter deployed to the southern border by Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) crashed near the U.S.-Mexico boundary Thursday evening, the Washington Examiner has learned.
A Texas Department of Public Safety single-engine helicopter carrying two crew members went down after sunset around 7:20 p.m. local time while conducting a border interdiction patrol fight as part of Operation Lone Star, a Texas DPS spokeswoman wrote in an email late Thursday.
“This flight was conducted at night, under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) conditions utilizing night vision goggles, and the crew consisted of a pilot and co-pilot,” the DPS wrote in a statement.
The helicopter crashed west of Kinney County, not far from the border town of Eagle Pass.
“During the flight, the crew experienced a total loss of power, entered into an auto-rotative descent, and made contact with the ground,” according to the DPS. “The co-pilot sustained a minor hand injury, and the helicopter sustained substantial damage.”
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DPS has alerted the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration of the incident, as is standard procedure.
The Texas Highway Patrol was on the scene until federal officials could arrive.
