Casey Frankoski’s memorial, Deaths of John Grassia and Chris Luna A New York National Guard man who was critically hurt in a helicopter accident that occurred while it was flying over the border between Mexico and the United States was still in the hospital on Sunday. The identity of the two National Guard troops and the Border Patrol agent who perished in the accident were made public by the authorities in the meanwhile.
Three persons were killed in a collision that happened in a Texas field near Rio Grande City on Friday. Chief Warrant Officer 2 Casey Frankoski (age 28), Chief Warrant Officer 2 John Grassia (age 30), and Border Patrol Agent Chris Luna (age 49) were the persons in question. The inquiry into the reason of the collision is still proceeding as of right now.
The UH-72 Lakota helicopter, which was assigned to the federal government’s border security mission, went down while performing aviation operations, according to a statement released by Joint Task Force North, a military organisation that supports Customs and Border Protection. No additional information was given.
The National Guard Bureau has revealed that the wounded soldier was attached to the New York National Guard. The head of the aircraft crew was this specific soldier, whose identity is being withheld. The soldier will remain receiving treatment at the hospital, according a news statement issued by the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs.
Grassia was a New York state trooper who was originally from Schenectady, New York, according to the New York State Division of Military & Naval Affairs. He joined the New York Army National Guard in 2013 to work as a maintenance expert on the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. Grassia worked as a state police officer in New York.
Frankoski, a resident of Rensselaer, New York, joined the New York Army National Guard in 2016, the same year she started training to become a pilot for the UH-60 Black Hawk and UH-72 Lakota helicopters, according to the news release. Frankoski and Grassia were assigned to Detachment 2, Company A, 1st Battalion, 244th Aviation Regiment prior to their deployment. Luna was ultimately sent to the Border Patrol’s Rio Grande City Station.
An Army National Guard helicopter assigned to the District of Columbia was the aircraft involved in the accident, according to the notification received by the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs. Both federal and state authorities police the border area extensively, and this includes regular aeroplane surveillance.
At the time, authorities said that in January, a Texas Department of Public Safety aircraft that was policing the state’s border with Mexico had a power outage and crashed. It was found that the helicopter had significant damage while the co-pilot had just a minor hand injury. Operation Lone Star, a border operation that has questioned the federal government’s jurisdiction over immigration, included this helicopter’s flight. About 10 billion dollars went into the mission, which Texas Governor Greg Abbott oversaw.
