Former Montana man killed in helicopter crash in Iraq

GREAT FALLS, Mont. --A former Montana man was one of five Americans killed this week in a helicopter crash in Iraq, family members said Thursday.

Former Cascade resident Casey Casavant, 35, had been in Iraq for the past two years working as a private contractor for the Defense Department, family members said.

He was born in Vermont but spent several years in Cascade. He then moved back to Vermont, where he graduated from high school. His mother and sister still live in Cascade.

Casavant was a U.S. Army reservist before he began working with private defense contractors.

He was one of five Americans killed Tuesday when the helicopter they were riding in was downed in a dangerous Sunni neighborhood in central Baghdad, family members said.

The helicopter, owned by U.S. security company Blackwater USA, swooped into electrical wires and crashed after racing to help a U.S. Embassy ground convoy that had come under fire.

U.S. officials said it was not clear if the aircraft was shot down or if the pilot veered into the wires while trying to avoid gunfire.

An insurgent group claimed responsibility for downing the helicopter, and posted a video Thursday on an Islamic Web site showing the wreckage and two bodies.

Contrary to previous reports, Casavant's family said he died in the crash, and was not shot in the head execution-style.