Two US servicemen died in a serious military helicopter crash in the US state of Texas, local authorities and the Army Command officially confirmed.
The incident occurred in the central part of the state, in the Bell County area, located about 100 kilometers north of the state capital Austin.
According to Fox News (https://www.foxnews.com/us/deadly-military-helicopter-crash-texas-kills-2-sparks-wildfire-forces-evacuations-officials), the crash was reported to the Bell County Sheriff's Office shortly after 1:30 p.m. local time on Wednesday. Emergency teams and local police who arrived at the scene only confirmed the death of the two people on board the machine.
The command of the large military base “Fort Hood“ (also called Fort Cavasos) issued an official statement stating that the crashed aircraft was an attack helicopter AH-64 Apache. The helicopter was performing a routine training flight when it crashed into a private field about a half-mile from residential buildings south of the town of Salado.
Sheriff's Office spokesman Cliff Coleman described the incident as an "extremely violent and brutal impact." The helicopter did not hit any homes or other critical structures on the ground, but the impact knocked down power lines and immediately ignited a large fire in the dry grassy areas. Due to strong southerly winds, the fire quickly got out of control, forcing the evacuation of residents from nearby homes along FM 2843, BBC News (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ceqep0n2ej9o) added in its summary. Several fire departments from the region are involved in controlling the fire.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott expressed his condolences on the social network X: „Today an Apache helicopter crashed in Bell County during Fort Hood operations, taking the lives of two members of our military. Texas remains forever indebted to those who serve our state and nation“.
Major General Ethan Dissen, acting commander of the 1st Cavalry Division, told the media, quoted by Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/world/us/two-us-army-soldiers-killed-texas-helicopter-crash-2026-08-12/), that the immediate priority at this time is to fully secure the area and provide support to the families of the deceased.
The identities of the two pilots are being kept secret and will be officially announced at the earliest 24 hours after their next of kin are notified. The investigation into the causes of the tragic crash is being conducted by the Criminal Investigation Division of “Fort Hood“.
The AH-64 Apache model has been the backbone of the US military's attack aircraft since its introduction into service in 1984. The two-seater machine has a front position for the co-pilot-gunner and a rear position for the main pilot. According to experts, despite regular modernization of this type of equipment, such incidents during training missions once again raise questions about the safety protocols for military flights in the US.