Overview
- Fiscal year 2026 has recorded five Class A AH-64E Apache mishaps, including a recent fatal crash that killed two soldiers and sparked a temporary pause on routine training flights.
- Internal Army safety messages flagged roughly 70 then 10 more suspect transmissions that can disable the tail rotor, electrical power and hydraulics, and those alerts grounded about one in ten Apaches pending repair.
- The Army declined to link specific major crashes to transmission failure and withheld preliminary technical findings while formal inquiries are ongoing.
- Boeing has deployed teams to Army maintenance depots to inspect and repair suspect transmission components as the service lifts the training pause and restores routine flight operations.
- The rise in crashes combines mechanical concerns with human and operational factors, and the current major‑mishap rate is approaching the high level seen in fiscal 2024, prompting increased depot work and scrutiny of pilot training and aircraft maintenance.