SAVANNAH, GA. – A military spokesman says one member of an elite Army helicopter unit is dead and two crew members suffered injuries when their aircraft slammed into the ground while trying to land at a Savannah, Ga., airfield.

Maj. Allen Hill said Thursday that the MH-60 Black Hawk was returning from a routine training flight to Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah when it made a "hard landing" late Wednesday on or near the airstrip. The names of the dead and injured soldiers were not immediately released.

The crew belongs to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, which trains to fly helicopters behind enemy lines under cover of darkness. Also called the Night Stalkers, the unit has a battalion based in Savannah.

On Jan. 8, a Navy helicopter crashed about 18 miles off Virginia Beach, killing three aboard.

Another U.S. nuclear scandal - officers cheated on proficiency tests

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a stunning setback for a nuclear missile force already beset by missteps and leadership lapses, the Air Force disclosed on Wednesday that 34 officers entrusted with the world's deadliest weapons have been removed from launch duty for allegedly cheating — or tolerating cheating by others — on routine proficiency tests.

The cheating scandal is the latest in a series of Air Force nuclear stumbles documented in recent months by The Associated Press, including deliberate violations of safety rules, failures of inspections, breakdowns in training, and evidence that the men and women who operate the missiles from underground command posts are suffering burnout. In October the commander of the nuclear missile force was fired for engaging in embarrassing behavior, including drunkenness, while leading a U.S. delegation to a nuclear exercise in Russia.

A "profoundly disappointed" Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James, the service's top civilian official, told a hurriedly arranged Pentagon news conference that the alleged cheating at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., was discovered during a previously announced probe of drug possession by 11 officers at several Air Force bases, including two who also are in the nuclear force and suspected of participating in the cheating ring.

"This is absolutely unacceptable behavior," James said of the cheating, which Gen. Mark Welsh, the Air Force chief of staff, said could be the biggest such scandal in the history of the missile force.

FA-18E crashes of Virginia coast - pilot ejects.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - A single-seat Navy FA-18E super hornet crashed 45 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach Wednesday afternoon, the U.S. Coast Guard confirms.

Commander Mike Kafka with Naval Air Atlantic said the jet is part of VFA-143, assigned to Carrier Air Wing 7, and is currently assigned to USS Eisenhower. The flight originated from Oceana Naval Air Station and was conducting routine training exercises when the jet crashed at approximately 2:30 p.m.

Spokesman Petty Officer David Weydert confirmed the pilot ejected and was rescued by a fishing vessel in the area. The pilot was conscious when he was picked up. A Navy MH-60 Sea Hawk responded to the scene and transported the pilot to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where he is currently listed in critical condition, according to Commander Mike Kafka.

WAVY News 10's Lauren Compton observed a person being taken off a Navy helicopter at the hospital around 4 p.m. She reports the person was lying flat on a stretcher, covered with a blanket.

MC-12 crashes in Afghanistan - 6 killed.

A U.S. military plane has crashed in eastern Afghanistan, resulting in the deaths of three Americans. There are no indications that the aircraft was brought down by enemy fire, said a defense official.

“International Security Assistance Force service members and one ISAF civilian died following an aircraft mishap in eastern Afghanistan today,” said a statement released by NATO in Afghanistan.

A defense official told ABC News that the incident involved an MC-12 reconnaissance aircraft flying a nighttime mission over eastern Afghanistan.

MC-12′s are Beechcraft propeller aircraft that carry multiple surveillance systems that enable the monitoring of different areas at the same time. The feeds are monitored by technicians who fly in the rear of the small aircraft.

The crash comes on the same day that an ISAF spokesperson confirmed that a Blackhawk helicopter crash in mid-December that killed six soldiers was the result of “enemy action.”

The spokesperson said that the families of the six soldiers were notified Thursday that “enemy action caused the crash and loss of life.”

At the time of the crash, on December 17, defense officials said there had been no indications that enemy fire had brought down the helicopter.

The investigation into the crash continues, so no other details were provided.

A defense official would not go into what kind of “enemy action” brought down the helicopter, but said the investigation had determined there was no firefight on the ground after the crash.

USAF Nuke Officers under investigation for possessing illegal drugs

BUSINESS INSIDER: Two US Air Force officers in charge of launching nuclear missiles are under investigation for possessing illegal drugs, officials said Thursday, in the latest setback for the country's nuclear force.

The two officers, assigned to Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana, "are being investigated by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations for illegal drug possession," spokeswoman Ann Stefanek told AFP.

The military offered no further details of the case but the news came as US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel paid a rare visit to an ICBM base in Wyoming.

Hagel's trip follows a series of embarrassing incidents and revelations for the Air Force's nuclear team, including internal reviews signalling morale problems among missile units and the sacking of a number of senior officers.

Speaking at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Hagel made no mention of the criminal case but sought to reassure service members that their work was valued, while reminding them of the high stakes at hand.

"In what you do every day, there is no room for error, none. You know that. The American people expect that," Hagel said.

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