FORT LEWIS, Wash. -- The air crew and the helicopter that crashed in northern Iraq, killing 14 soldiers, was from Fort Lewis, officials told KIRO 7 Eyewitness News.

Four soldiers from Fort Lewis were killed in the crash.

Army Captain Corry Paul Tyler, a West Point graduate on his second tour of duty in Iraq, was one of the soldiers killed.

Officials said the Black Hawk helicopter was assigned to the 4th Squadron, 6th US Air Cavalry, which deployed to Iraq in May.

The UH-60 helicopter went down before dawn in the Tamim province that surrounds Kirkuk, an oil-rich city 180 miles north of Baghdad, said Lt. Col. Michael Donnelly, a military spokesman in northern Iraq.

He declined to be more specific about the location of the crash, but said the facts gathered indicated it was almost certainly due to a mechanical problem and not hostile fire, and CBS News learned Wednesday that 800 yards into the flight the helicopter’s tail rotator malfunctioned, causing it to go into an uncontrollable spin and crash into rough terrain.

VIDEO: Community Reacts To News Of Crash

The Black Hawk was one of two helicopters and had just picked up troops after a mission when it crashed, Donnelly said. The four crew members and 10 passengers aboard were assigned to Task Force Lightning, but the military did not release further information about their identities pending notification of relatives.

The U.S. military relies heavily on helicopters to avoid the threat of ambushes and roadside bombs -- the deadliest weapon in the militants' arsenal -- and dozens have crashed in accidents or been shot down.

The crash is the deadliest involving a US Black Hawk helicopter since 2005.