Texas Apache helicopter crash kills two soldiers near Salado
Two soldiers died when a Fort Hood-based Apache crashed in a Salado field, igniting a grass fire and forcing evacuations.
By Deshawn Carter · Sports Writer
2 min read
A Texas Apache helicopter crash killed two soldiers Wednesday after a Fort Hood-based Army aircraft went down in a field near Salado, setting off a grass fire that led to evacuations, authorities said.
The two people aboard were pronounced dead after emergency crews received 911 calls at about 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 12, according to the Bell County Sheriff’s Office, as reported by NBC News. Salado is in Bell County, roughly 50 miles north of Austin.
Fort Hood identified the aircraft as an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter based at the installation. The names of the people killed had not been publicly released in the reporting available Wednesday.
What happened in the Texas Apache helicopter crash?
The helicopter came down in an open field, rather than striking nearby homes or buildings, Bell County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Cliff Coleman said. No other injuries were reported, according to NBC News.
The impact sparked a fire that burned a large area of land and prompted evacuations in the surrounding area, Coleman said. Reporting from Fox 4 said the Texas A&M Forest Service had estimated the fire at about 100 acres with no containment at the time of its report, an early assessment rather than a final fire update.
Officials did not announce a cause of the crash. The Guardian reported that an unnamed military official told the Associated Press the Apache had been on a routine training flight, but that account was not presented as an official finding on what caused it to go down.
What is known about the investigation?
Fort Hood’s Criminal Investigation Division is leading the inquiry, according to the Bell County Sheriff’s Office. Brig. Gen. Ethan Diven, Fort Hood’s acting commanding general, said securing the site and supporting the initial response were the installation’s immediate priorities.
The AH-64 Apache is an Army attack helicopter with two seats, according to ABC News. The reporting establishes separately that two people were aboard the aircraft when it crashed.
Emergency responders, military personnel and law enforcement officers were sent to the scene, NBC News reported. The cause of the crash and the identities of the two soldiers remained unannounced in the supplied reports.
This story draws on original reporting from NBC News.