{"id":48533,"date":"2026-08-16T11:11:35","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T06:11:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=48533"},"modified":"2026-08-16T11:11:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T06:11:35","slug":"army-temporarily-grounds-apache-helicopter-training-flights-after-2-soldiers-die-in-texas-crash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=48533","title":{"rendered":"Army temporarily grounds Apache helicopter training flights after 2 soldiers die in Texas crash"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>The U.S. Army said Friday it is temporarily halting Apache helicopter training flights after two soldiers <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/apache-helicopter-crash-salado-texas-fort-hood\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">were killed earlier this week<\/a><\/span> in a crash near Fort Hood, Texas.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The stand-down will remain in effect until we have a better understanding of the root cause of the accident,&#8221; the Army said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>The AH-64 Apache attack helicopter crashed Wednesday in a field in rural Salado, Texas, near its base in Fort Hood, the Army and local law enforcement officials said. The Army identified the deceased pilots as Chief Warrant Officer 2 Deontre T. Huey, 34, and Warrant Officer Seth L. Olmsted, 25, both Texas natives.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You could tell this was a violent crash,&#8221; said Bell County Sheriff&#8217;s Office spokesperson Bill Coleman, who told reporters the helicopter did not hit any buildings, but sparked a wildfire.<\/p>\n<p>The military has not specified the cause of the crash. It is not unusual for the military to order a temporary stand-down after a fatal crash, especially if the cause is still under investigation.<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed__float-wrap\">\n<figure class=\"embed embed--type-image is-image embed--float-none embed--size-medium\" data-ads=\"{\" extrawordcount=\"\">\n<p>      <span class=\"img embed__content \"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/08\/12\/3548fed2-b434-4f35-a24c-6678a2c15ca7\/thumbnail\/620x465\/e31870d3c11e4ddde66b3302c0adf49f\/crash-scene.jpg#\" alt=\"cbsn-fusion-official-describes-violent-army-apache-helicopter-crash-in-texas-thumbnail.jpg \" height=\"465\" width=\"620\" class=\" lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/08\/12\/3548fed2-b434-4f35-a24c-6678a2c15ca7\/thumbnail\/620x465\/e31870d3c11e4ddde66b3302c0adf49f\/crash-scene.jpg 1x, https:\/\/assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/08\/12\/3548fed2-b434-4f35-a24c-6678a2c15ca7\/thumbnail\/1240x930\/b927d5dbb6fd0a6f564f49de409736c1\/crash-scene.jpg 2x\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/span><figcaption class=\"embed__caption-container\">\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__caption\">The aftermath of an Apache helicopter crash in Salado, Texas, on Aug. 12, 2026.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__credit\"><\/p>\n<p>                Bell County Sheriff&#8217;s Office<\/p>\n<p>                          <\/span><br \/>\n              <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;The Army is profoundly saddened by the loss of two Soldiers in the recent AH64 Apache helicopter crash near Fort Hood, Texas,&#8221; the Army said Friday. &#8220;We mourn these aviators, and our deepest condolences remain with their families, friends, and unit during this extraordinarily difficult time.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Army has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.army.mil\/article\/137579\/ah_64e_apache_attack_helicopter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">described<\/a> the newest iteration of the AH-64 Apache, which has been manufactured by Boeing since the late 1990s, as &#8220;the most advanced aerial fighting vehicle in the world.&#8221; The twin-engine helicopter typically seats a pilot and a co-pilot gunner, and is equipped with a rapid fire gun and can launch Hellfire missiles.<\/p>\n<p>Hundreds of Apaches are operated by Army and National Guard units, and the helicopters have been used during the U.S.-Iran war. In June, an Apache that was <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/us-apache-helicopter-crash-strait-of-hormuz-first-sea-drone-rescue\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">patrolling the Strait of Hormuz<\/a><\/span> was shot down by an Iranian drone, President Trump announced. The two pilots were then rescued by a sea drone.<\/p>\n<section class=\"content__body--footer\">\n<\/section>\n<p>  <!-- data-recirc-source=\"queryly\" --><\/p>\n<aside class=\"component list recirculation component--type-recirculation  \">\n<p><h3 class=\"component__title\">More from CBS News<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"component__item-recirc-block\">\n<p><h3 class=\"component__title\">Go deeper with The Free Press<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<section class=\"content__body--footer\">\n      <!-- tags --><\/p>\n<section class=\"content__tags\">\n<p class=\"content__tags__label\">In:<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S. Army said Friday it is temporarily halting Apache helicopter training flights after two soldiers were killed earlier this week in a crash near Fort Hood, Texas. &#8220;The stand-down will remain in effect until we have a better understanding of the root cause of the accident,&#8221; the Army said in a statement. The AH-64&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48534,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/08\/14\/9d189be0-7dce-4908-95f7-fea561df7aaf\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/17731458e171e40a821dcd3aba676dda\/9594721.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=48533"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48533\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/48534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}