Army Black Hawk Helicopter Mistakenly Lands at Colorado High School

An athletic field at Pomona High School in Arvada briefly became a military helipad when an Army helicopter unexpectedly touched down at the school on Thursday, April 24.

Students and staff members were standing on the field when the UH-60 Black Hawk approached at 11:30 a.m., Principal Patrick Rock told the Pomona community in an email later that day. Faculty quickly ushered the students inside until the helicopter took off.

"All students and staff are safe," Rock said, calling the ordeal "a unique incident."

The helicopter was supposed to go to Standley Lake High School, located around four miles away in Westminster, according to Major Jeffrey Windmueller, spokesperson for the Army Reserve Aviation Command. He says the landing at Pomona High School was "inadvertent," though the cause of the mistake is currently unclear.

"Upon realizing the discrepancy, the crew promptly relocated to the correct landing zone at Standley Lake High School without further incident," Windmueller says. "We are looking into its cause and have communicated with Pomona High to confirm there were no injuries or damages that occurred."

The helicopter continued its scheduled appearance at Standley Lake High School. The landing was part of a slate of activities at the school in recognition of Day Without Hate.

"This was vetted and approved by the district," a spokesperson for Jeffco Public Schools tells Westword.

Windmueller says the helicopter appearance was aimed at "fostering community awareness and support."

Day Without Hate is a student-led initiative started at Standley Lake High School in response to increasingly frequent school shootings nationwide, according to the event website. It is meant to promote "peace, nonviolence, unity, respect, and mental health awareness in our schools and communities."

Nothing says peace and nonviolence like a surprise military Black Hawk.