Three Golden Knights Injured In Parachute Accident Over Homestead Air Reserve Base

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Three US Army Golden Knights were hurt in an overnight training exercise at the Homestead Air Reserve Base.

Kelli Bland, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Army Recruiting Command in Fort Knox, Kentucky, tells CBS4's Peter D'Oench that the soldiers were injured in a routine nighttime training operation around 4 a.m.

She said it's not known what caused the accident and said it was too early to say it was caused by an equipment malfunction. She said the cause was under investigation.

The three injured soldiers were taken by air rescue to the Ryder Trauma Center. Bland said two of them are in critical condition. A third soldier is in serious condition.

They're being monitored for head and internal injuries.

The three soldiers are members of the Army's Golden Knights Parachute Demonstration Team. They are based in Fort Bragg, North Carolina but spend their winters at the Homestead base.

Bland said the soldiers were jumping from a fixed-wing aircraft that was at 3500 feet.

US Army soldiers began skydiving in 1959. In 1962, the team was nicknamed the Golden Knights.

According to their website, they have conducted more than 16,000 shows in 50 states and 48 countries.

The Golden Knights team consists of nearly 100 men and women and have performed with other branches of the military.

Some members of the team were inside Jackson Memorial Hospital, checking on the conditions of their fellow soldiers.

Bland said the Army was not identifying the soldiers and said their parents have been notified about the accident.