A US Army Apache attack helicopter has crashed near Fort Hood in Texas, killing the two crew members who were on board. Officials in Texas said both people aboard the aircraft died in the crash, and the Bell County sheriff's office confirmed that there were no survivors. The incident is one of the latest in a series of accidents involving the US Army's Apache fleet.
According to authorities, the helicopter had taken off from the Fort Hood military base before it went down in a field near the town of Salado, about an hour north of Austin. New images from the scene showed a fiery debris field where the aircraft came to rest. The impact of the crash sparked a fire that spread through the surrounding area and continued to burn as emergency crews arrived.
Fort Hood confirmed that the aircraft was one of its own helicopters, describing it as a two-seater Apache attack helicopter. The Apache is regarded as a workhorse of the US Army and is an attack aircraft that carries weapon systems on board. It is typically flown by a crew of two, with one pilot and a second crew member who operates the weapon systems from the aircraft.
Both of those crew positions were filled when the helicopter went down, and neither of the two people on board survived. The loss underscored the risks faced by military aviators even during routine operations, and left the Fort Hood community mourning the deaths of two of its own as the base and local authorities worked to secure the site.
The crash also created a significant hazard on the ground. The fire that broke out after the aircraft came down forced emergency responders to tackle both the wreckage and the spreading flames at the same time. Officials worked to bring the blaze under control while beginning the process of recovering the aircraft and examining the debris field left behind by the impact.
The accident adds to concerns about the safety record of the Apache. In recent years, there appears to have been a higher rate of crashes involving Apache attack helicopters compared with other aircraft such as the Black Hawk, which is also widely used by the US Army. Each new incident has renewed scrutiny of how the attack helicopters are maintained and operated across the force.
The cause of the crash was not immediately clear, and investigators are expected to examine what led the helicopter to go down. Fort Hood is one of the largest US Army installations in the country, and accidents involving its aircraft draw close attention. Authorities were continuing to gather information at the site, with further details expected as the investigation into the deadly crash gets under way.
