Bodies of US aircrew recovered from helicopter wreckage

The bodies of four American servicemen have been removed from the wreckage of their helicopter which crashed in a deadly training exercise on the north Norfolk coast.

The four US airmen, who were based at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, were taken from the wreckage by a private ambulance on Thursday afternoon after what investigators described as a complex recovery operation.

The bodies of the servicemen – captains Christopher Stover, Sean Ruane, technical sergeant Dale Mathews and staff sergeant Afton Ponce – will be flown to the US air force’s mortuary affairs centre in Dover, Delaware, once they have been released by the coroner in Norfolk.

As investigations into the crash entered a third day, police and US military said it was still too early to speculate on why the routine training exercise went so badly wrong.

The USAF Pave Hawk helicopter was carrying out low-level combat search-and-rescue manoeuvres when it ditched into salt marshes off the north Norfolk coast on Tuesday night.

Norfolk police handed the investigation over to the US air force on Thursday as it ruled out the crash being a criminal matter. Assistant Chief Constable Nick Dean, who has led the police response to the crash, said: “As has been the case throughout this investigation, our thoughts remain with the families and friends of the military personnel who lost their lives in this tragic incident.

“Even though our colleagues from the USAF, supported by the Ministry of Defence, will now lead the ongoing inquiries, we will continue to support their work, engaging with local communities and providing reassurance and assistance where required.”