Posted on 08/12/2026 5:30:22 PM PDT by T.B. Yoits
Two people were killed Wednesday when a Fort Hood AH-64 Apache attack helicopter violently crashed into a field in Central Texas, sparking a wildfire that forced evacuations and sent emergency crews racing to the scene, authorities said.
Bell County Sheriff's Office spokesman Cliff Coleman said authorities received the call about the crash at approximately 1:34 p.m.
The helicopter went down in a field south of Salado, roughly 30 minutes from Fort Hood. KWTX reported the crash occurred off Dove Hollow Lane.
Coleman described the crash as violent and confirmed two people were killed. No one else was injured.
Coleman identified the aircraft as an Apache helicopter and initially said it was believed to be from Fort Hood, but deferred to military officials for confirmation.
Fort Hood later confirmed the aircraft was an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter based at the installation. The identities of the two people killed have not been released.
Local emergency services, military responders and law enforcement were actively responding to the scene, Fort Hood said in a statement.
"Our immediate priority is securing the site and supporting the initial response efforts," Brigadier General Ethan Diven, First Cavalry Division Acting Commanding General, said. "Our thoughts are with the crew and their families as we await further information."
Fort Hood called the crash an ongoing and developing situation and said additional information would be released as it becomes available.
The crash sparked a wildfire, prompting a large emergency response, road closures and evacuations.
Coleman said the fire remained uncontrolled as of 4 p.m. ET and that some residents had been evacuated because of the flames.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Aviation Ping.............😥
“God is nigh.”
.
Fixed it for them.
Although civilians think of "soldiers" as ground forces, whereas "pilot" and "copilot" would make it clear who was onboard.
More and more the "news" is coming from people with mobile phones posting to social media and the major media outlets reaching out to them for rights to use photos, etc.
That hit me right off the bat too.
Even if they're 99.9% two soldiers were killed, a good journalist isn't going to say that without confirmation first. As the story says, they have not been identified, and the Sheriff is deferring to military officials for comment.
Army should join in on the firefighting if they haven’t.
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