The only survivor of a helicopter crash that killed two of his fellow New York Army National Guard members took his symbolic “final flight” on a UH-60M Black Hawk last week in Latham.
Sgt. 1st Class Jacob Pratt, a helicopter crew chief who suffered extensive injuries in a crash aboard a UH-72 Lakota while conducting border patrol duties near Rio Grande City, Texas, took to the skies Thursday with National Guard colleagues to mark the end of his military career, the New York Division of Military and Naval Affairs said.
The crash on March 8, 2024, claimed the lives of New York Army National Guard Chief Warrant Officers 2 Casey Frankoski of Rensselaer and John Grassia III of Rotterdam, along with Border Patrol Agent Chris Luna. Pratt’s injuries confined him to a wheelchair…