FORT WAINWRIGHT, ALASKA: Three Army helicopter pilots were killed after two Apaches crashed in central Alaska en route from a training mission, said the military officials.
The Apache helicopters were from the 11th Airborne Division’s 25th Aviation Regiment at Fort Wainwright. The Apaches crashed Thursday near Healy, Alaska, some 80 miles southwest of Fairbanks. Three of the four people in the helicopters lost their lives, said Capt. Molly Treece, an Army spokeswoman. The survivor was taken to a hospital immediately, Treece said.
The two pilots were declared dead at the crash site, said the Army in a news release, while the third died en route to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. The fourth soldier was also shifted to the hospital and is being treated at Fairbanks Memorial for injuries. The names of the dead pilots will be withheld until 24 hours after their next of kin have been notified.
It was not immediately known what caused the crash.
According to the statement, a team from the Army Combat Readiness Center in Fort Novosel will investigate the accident. “This is an incredible loss for these soldiers’ families, their fellow soldiers, and for the division,” said Maj. Gen. Brian Eifler, the 11th Airborne Division commander, in the statement. “Our hearts and prayers go out to their families, friends and loved ones, and we are making the full resources of the Army available to support them.”
The crash is at least the second involving Apache helicopters in Alaska in 2023. In February, two soldiers got injured when their Apache crashed at in southern Alaska’s Talkeetna Airport.
In March, nine soldiers died when two Army Black Hawk helicopters crashed in Kentucky. A month earlier, a Tennessee National Guard Black Hawk chopper also crashed, killing two.
