KIMBALL (KMHL) – The three members of the Minnesota National Guard killed in a tragic helicopter crash Thursday afternoon were identified over the weekend.
Gov. Tim Walz identifies the men as Chief Warrant Officer Two Charles Nord, 30, of Perham, Chief Warrant Officer Two James Rogers, 28, of Winstead, and Sergeant Kort Miller Plantenberg, 28, of Avon.
All three guardsmen were killed when their helicopter crashed near Kimball during a maintenance test flight on Thursday. Nord had been in the guard the longest, enlisting in 2007, Rogers enlisted in 2009 and Plantenberg in 2016.
Army investigators have been on the scene of the crash, investigators will continue to gather data from the crash site and the helicopter. Officials say the helicopter will not be removed until all the data is collected, and that it may take some time before the cause of the crash is known.
