The U.S. Army has temporarily grounded all AH-64 Apache helicopter flight operations following a fatal crash near Fort Hood, Texas, earlier this week. The decision was made to allow for a thorough investigation into the incident.
"Army leaders directed a temporary stand-down of AH64 Apache training flight operations," the Army stated. "The stand-down will remain in effect until we have a better understanding of the root cause of the accident. We currently have no additional information to share."
The crash occurred Wednesday during a maintenance test flight involving a two-seater Apache attack helicopter based at Fort Hood. The aircraft went down in a field near the Texas base. Two soldiers, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Deontre T. Huey, 34, and Warrant Officer Seth L. Olmstead, 25, died in the mishap.
A safety investigation is underway, led by a team from the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center, to determine the cause of the crash.
Recent data indicate that Apache helicopters have experienced a higher number of mishaps compared to other aircraft in the Army's inventory.