The US Army has temporarily halted AH-64 Apache training flights after a fatal crash near Fort Hood, Texas, that killed two soldiers earlier this week. The stand-down covers Apache training operations across Army units while investigators work to determine the root cause of the accident, which involved a two-seat aircraft on a maintenance test or routine training flight.
The crash occurred in the Salado and Bell County area near Fort Hood on Wednesday. The Army Combat Readiness Center is among the agencies examining the incident, and no cause had been released at the time of the reports. Coverage identified the dead as Chief Warrant Officer 2 Deontre T. Huey and Warrant Officer Seth L. Olmstead.
The decision affects training and qualification flying for one of the Army’s key attack helicopter fleets, including aircraft assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood. The pause is framed as a safety measure rather than a permanent restriction, and the Army has not indicated that combat operations are included in the stand-down.