Pilot in Iraq crash faces back surgery
By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer
A Hawai'i-based OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter pilot was scheduled to undergo surgery for a broken back last night in Germany after his aircraft crashed Sunday north of Baghdad in Iraq.
Lt. Dwight Mears, 25, was co-piloting the two-man observation chopper near Taji air base at about 100 feet when engine lights came on and it crashed in a swampy area.
Mears
Both Mears and the pilot suffered "burst fractures" to vertebrae, but no spinal cord damage, Mears' father, George, said yesterday from his home in Corvallis, Ore.
"We expect both of them, actually, to do OK," George Mears said.
Dwight Mears graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 2001. The 1st Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment pilot deployed to Iraq in early January and assisted with the arrival of Hawai'i-based OH-58Ds to the country.
The name of the other pilot was not released. A military statement said there was no indication the aircraft crashed because of hostile fire. An investigation is under way.
George Mears said, "Dwight said when you are in the aircraft and with open sides, it's so loud you really wouldn't know in what circumstances they went down (and if the aircraft was hit by fire). They went down so fast."
More than 20 Kiowa Warriors from the 1st Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment were shipped to Iraq in December.
There was another U.S. helicopter in the area where Dwight Mears' Kiowa went down.
Mears credited the Army with quickly getting his son to Germany for surgery.
"It (the crash) sort of catches you by surprise because Dwight never thought he'd get hurt," George Mears said. "Obviously, we're very pleased that Dwight's safe, but there are a lot of families out there that have lost their sons and it's devastating."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5459.
