CW02 Billie Grinder, US Army

Army CW02 Billie J. Grinder, 25, died of a non combat related accident on February 21, 2010 in Qayyarah, Iraq. CW02 Grinder was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom on behalf of the 1st Squadron, 230th Cavalry Regiment, Tennessee Army National Guard in Louisville, Tennessee. CW02 Grinder died from wounds suffered when her OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter had a hard landing as a result of a helicopter systems failure. Her family sued the makers of the helicopter and settled.

“One of the U.S. Army’s most advanced helicopters is unsafe and responsible for the deaths of two Tennessee troops, a lawsuit filed in Knox County Circuit Court claims. The suit alleges the failure of the Full Authority Digital Electronic Control (FADEC) system in a Kiowa OH-58D Warrior helicopter was a direct and proximate cause in the deaths of troops Marcus R. Alford Sr. and Billie Jean Grinder.” -Knoxville News Sentinel

Related Links:
DOD Identifies Army Casualties
Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Billie Jean Grinder
Knoxville, Gallatin Army pilots killed in Iraq chopper crash
Helicopter crash in Iraq kills South-Doyle graduate, Gallatin woman
Helicopter pilot with local ties killed in Iraq
Pilot was 1st female Tenn. guard death in Iraq
Albany couple’s niece, 25, perishes in chopper crash
South-Doyle grad 1 of 2 TN soldiers killed in Iraq
Remembering our fallen pilots
Tennessee ANG Soldiers honor wounded warriors, fallen comrades
Army investigating National Guard helicopter crash that killed 2 Knoxville pilots
Suit filed, chopper blamed in accident that killed 2 Tennessee pilots in Iraq
Helicopter Maker Fights Suit by Tennessee Soldiers’ Families Over Deadly Crash
Family of East TN army pilot, helicopter maker reach settlement
Bell Helicopter settles lawsuit with Tenn. family
Fallen aviators honored with Car, Truck and Bike Show
Non Combat Deaths of Female Service Members in the U.S. Military (Iraq)