Lyons, Niall Damien
Male
Verified Chief Warrant Officer 3 Niall Damien Lyons, 40, of Spokane, Washington, was a U.S. Army helicopter pilot assigned to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. He was killed in a helicopter crash in Darreh-ye Bum, Afghanistan, on Octob
Their Story
Niall Damien Lyons, 40, was from Spokane, Washington. He served as a Chief Warrant Officer 3 in the U.S. Army, assigned to Company B, 3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR), based at Hunter Army Airfield in Georgia. The 160th SOAR, known as the 'Night Stalkers,' provides aviation support for special operations forces.
On October 26, 2009, Lyons was piloting an MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter on a mission in the Darreh-ye Bum village of Wardak province, west of Kabul. According to U.S. military reports, the helicopter crashed during the operation. The incident was declared a 'hostile' casualty, though the specific cause of the crash was not detailed in initial releases. Lyons and six other American service members, along with three agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, were killed.
The crash occurred during Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan that began in October 2001. By 2009, the conflict was in a period of intense fighting as international forces attempted to counter a resurgent Taliban and other insurgent groups. Wardak province was a known area of insurgent activity.
The deaths were reported by major news agencies, including The New York Times and the Associated Press, which noted the crash was one of the deadliest for U.S. forces in Afghanistan that year. The Department of Defense officially announced the casualties the following day, October 27, 2009.
Lyons's name is inscribed on the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial, which honors those killed in the 2001 attack and in the subsequent wars, and on a memorial at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, home of the 160th SOAR. He is remembered by his unit and community as a skilled aviator.
Explore Further
Niall Lyons was killed during Operation Enduring Freedom (2001–2014). The conflict concluded in December 2014. See the full roster of those killed in this conflict.
Among those documented in the same conflict: Andrews, Evander Earl, Edmunds, Jonn Joseph, Stonesifer, Kristofor Tif, Davis, Bryant Leroy.
