Overview
- A Fort Hood–based AH-64 Apache attack helicopter crashed into a field south of Salado on Wednesday afternoon, and both people aboard were found dead at the scene.
- The impact ignited a large grass fire that prompted evacuations, road closures including FM 2843, and a multiagency firefighting response that contained the blaze by evening.
- Fort Hood said its immediate priority was securing the site and supporting responders, and the installation’s Criminal Investigation Division is leading the active investigation into the cause.
- Officials have not released the identities of the two crew members or the cause of the crash, and reports that the flight was a training mission remain unconfirmed.
- The AH-64 Apache is a two-seat Army attack helicopter, and investigators will comb the wreckage and coordinate with local agencies while families and the nearby community deal with evacuations and damage from the fire.