2 Dead in Army Apache Helicopter Crash in Texas
An AH-64 Apache based at Fort Hood went down in a field near Salado on Wednesday afternoon, sparking a grass fire, the Bell County Sheriff's Office said.
Two people were killed when a U.S. Army Apache attack helicopter crashed in a field near Fort Hood in Salado, Texas, on Wednesday, according to the Bell County Sheriff's Office.
The Army said in a statement that the aircraft was an AH-64 Apache based at Fort Hood. Apache attack helicopters are two-seater aircraft.
The sheriff's office said it received a 911 call reporting a helicopter crash after 1:30 p.m. local time. Deputies who arrived at the scene found that the crash had sparked a grass fire that was "out of control."
The wreckage was still burning as of the sheriff's office's account to ABC News, but no buildings or other structures were damaged, the office confirmed.
"Our immediate priority is securing the site and supporting the initial response efforts," Brig. Gen. Ethan Diven, the acting commanding general, said in a statement. "Our thoughts are with the crew and their families as we await further information."
The sheriff's office confirmed the aircraft was a military Apache helicopter.
Officials have not released the identities of the two people killed, and no cause for the crash has been given. The Army did not immediately say whether an investigation board had been convened.
Salado is a small community in Bell County, in central Texas, near the sprawling Fort Hood installation where the helicopter was based.
This is a developing story.
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