Air Force Helicopter Shot At Over Virginia, Crew Member Injured

KEY POINTS

The UH-1N Huey helicopter was on a routine training mission when it was struck
The chopper was forced to land at the Manassas Regional Airport, Virginia
The crew member aboard it was taken to a hospital with minor injuries

The FBI is investigating an incident during which a United States Air Force helicopter was shot at from the ground as it flew over northern Virginia on Monday. The shooting left a crew member of the aircraft injured, authorities said.

The UH-1N Huey helicopter, assigned to the 1st Helicopter Squadron at Joint Base Andrews, was conducting a routine training mission when it was struck. The incident happened near Middleburg, Virginia, when the helicopter was 1,000 feet above the ground and en route to the Manassas Regional Airport.

The helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing at the Manassas Regional Airport and the bullet was discovered in its airframe. FBI agents responded to the report of the shooting.

"The Airport received a call from Manassas Control Tower at 12:20 pm on Monday about a military helicopter inbound that had an on-board emergency and that paramedics would be arriving shortly," Pattie Prince, the communications manager for the city of Manassas, told ABC News.

Prince said the helicopter landed safely at around 12.43 p.m. EDT and "initial findings are that the helicopter was struck by a bullet resulting in a minor injury to an aircrew member and damage to the aircraft."

The crew member suffered a "non-threatening injury, for which he was treated and subsequently released from the hospital," FBI Washington Field Office (WFO) told USA Today. "WFO is working jointly with our law enforcement partners, including the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident."

Joint Base Andrews, home to Air Force helicopter, fighter squadrons and the presidential aircraft Air Force One, said further details are pending investigation. "The Office of Special Investigations is fully engaged with our FBI colleagues on this incident. OSI take threats to our Airmen and our resources very seriously. As this is an ongoing investigation, no further investigative details can be released at this time," the facility told McClatchy, which was the first to report the incident.