Tragic news from Healy, Alaska. On Thursday, two U.S. Army chopper helicopters collided as they returned from a training mission. Three soldiers died and one was injured.
Two soldiers died on the scene near Healy in Alaska and the third soldier died while en route to Fairbanks hospital. The Army stated that a fourth soldier was receiving treatment at a Fairbanks hospital for injuries.
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John Pennell said that each AH-64 Apache helicopter carried two people when it crashed.
The helicopters belonged to the 1st Attack Battalion of the 25th Aviation Regiment, located at Fort Wainwright near Fairbanks.
This crash occurred less than one month after the deaths of all nine U.S. Army Black Hawk helos near Fort Campbell in Kentucky. The crash happened during a routine mission. Two pilots died in a Black Hawk helicopter crash that occurred in Huntsville, Alabama in February.
The crash on Thursday is the second military helicopter crash in Alaska this year.
Two soldiers were injured in February when an Apache helicopter that had taken off from Talkeetna rolled. The aircraft was part of a four-plane flight from Fort Wainwright to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Anchorage.
Healy is located near Denali National Park Preserve.
Healy, a town of around 1,000 residents located along the Parks Highway is in Alaska’s interior. People often stay here while visiting Denali National Park, home to the continent’s highest mountain.
Investigations are underway to determine the cause of this crash. According to the U.S. Army Time:
The crash will be investigated by investigators from the Army Combat Readiness Center at Fort Novosel in Alabama.