FirstAlerts
Plane CrashesVersion 7

Army Grounds Apache Training Flights After Fatal Fort Hood Helicopter Crash Near Salado

Two pilots were killed when an Apache attack helicopter came down in a field in Bell County, Texas, sparking a wildfire; the cause has not been determined.

By AI ReporterFirst reported Aug 12, 2026, 4:27 p.m. ETUpdated Aug 16, 2026, 10:52 a.m. ET
people were killed when a helicopter crashed in a field near Fort Hood in on August 12, 2026, according to Fox News, ABC News, CBS News, the Daily Mail, Aerotime and Biztoc. outlets gave a different year — Fox 7 Austin and Fox 35 Orlando dated it August 12, 2025 — and First Alert 4 and KWTX gave August 11, 2026. The cause has not been determined. Fox News, ABC News, Stars and Stripes and others reported an investigation is open; Aerotime and several iHeart stations reported the cause as unknown. The has identified the dead pilots as Chief Warrant Officer Deontre T. Huey, 34, of Killeen, , and Warrant Officer Seth L. Olmstead, 25, of Belton, according to ABC News, Military.com and Fox News, which reported both were assigned to Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division. KWTX reported Fort Hood confirmed the flight was a "maintenance test flight"; Military.com reported Huey joined the in February 2014 as a motor transport operator and Olmstead in January 2023 as a warrant officer candidate. Lt. Gen. Kevin D. Admiral, commanding general of III Armored Corps and Fort Hood, offered condolences to the families, according to Hindustan Times. Gov. Greg Abbott said the Apache crashed in Bell County during Fort Hood operations, killing members of the military. Stars and Stripes, CBS News, NBC DFW and others reported the directed a temporary stand-down of AH-64 Apache training flight operations after the crash. , according to CBS News. KXXV reported the nationwide halt will stay in place until officials determine the root cause. Stars and Stripes reported the crash is the fourth involving an Apache helicopter in 2026 and the only fatal one, and Fox LA and Fox 5 Atlanta reported data indicates Apaches have experienced more mishaps than other helicopters in the service's inventory. That says nothing about the cause of this crash. The aircraft was an AH-64 Apache, according to Fox News, CBS News, Biztoc and the Daily Mail; ABC News and Flying described it as an , and Aerotime reported Fort Hood said it was an AH-64E Apache assigned to the installation, which hosts the 1st Cavalry Division. ABC News and Aerotime identified the operator as the . Registry records list one aircraft under the ; the aircraft involved has not been identified by tail number. The AH-64 Apache seats , a pilot in the rear and a co-pilot/gunner in front. The crash happened at according to Fox News and Stars and Stripes, according to CBS Austin and Military.com, according to Fox 7 Austin, and according to Yahoo News and Fox 4; ABC News put it , and Yahoo News gave the time zone as . Aerotime reported the Bell County Sheriff's Office began receiving 911 calls reporting a helicopter down about half a mile west of the 16400 block of Kuykendall Road, and that the aboard were pronounced dead at 14:30. Fox News reported deaths and no injuries; Aerotime reported crew killed, aboard, no ground fatalities and no injuries. The helicopter came down in a grassy field about 30 miles from Fort Hood. Bell County Sheriff's Office spokesman Cliff Coleman said the helicopter did not hit any homes or other structures and described it as a violent crash. The wreckage started the Dove Hollow Fire, which KXXV and CBS Austin reported burned about 155 acres and was 100% contained by Thursday, August 13; five homes were threatened and saved and one outbuilding was lost, with more than 200 firefighters from 22 agencies responding, alongside about 100 law enforcement personnel from nine agencies, in temperatures exceeding 100 degrees with gusts exceeding 30 miles per hour. Farm to Market Road 2843 was shut for hours. Accounts of who is leading the inquiry differ: ABC News, First Alert 4 and NBC DFW reported the said a safety investigation team from the Combat Readiness Center in Fort Rucker, Alabama, arrived Thursday, August 13, and is leading it, while ABC News, the Boston Herald and others reported Coleman said Fort Hood said additional information would be released as available. No finding has been made.

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Reference data

From aircraft and geographic registries, not from the news sources. Registry records can be out of date, and describe the aircraft and the place only — they say nothing about what happened.

Terrain elevation
614 ft
Nearest aerodrome
1.8 miles N of Salado Airport (73TA)

Sources

Revision history

  1. Version 716 Aug 2026, 14:52current

    Added fire-response detail (about 100 law enforcement personnel from nine agencies, over-100-degree temperatures and 30 mph gusts) and tightened the date-conflict wording; merged aircraft and timing paragraphs.

  2. Version 616 Aug 2026, 12:50

    Added the Army's nationwide AH-64 stand-down and its stated condition for lifting it, the confirmed maintenance test flight, final Dove Hollow Fire figures (155 acres, 100% contained), Abbott and Lt. Gen. Admiral statements, Apache mishap-record context, and the conflicting event dates.

  3. Version 515 Aug 2026, 00:19

    No new facts received; headline and dek added and wording tightened, with the conflicting investigation-lead and aircraft-type accounts unchanged.

  4. Version 414 Aug 2026, 19:19

    Added the Army's identification of the two pilots and their unit, ABC News reporting that the crash occurred during a maintenance test flight, and the Army Combat Readiness Center safety team's arrival on August 13; dropped the 'still developing' framing.

  5. Version 313 Aug 2026, 10:04

    Added Aerotime reporting (AH-64E designation and Fort Hood statement, 1st Cavalry Division, 14:30 pronouncement, Kuykendall Road 911 calls, 150-acre fire figure, Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, next-of-kin notification, undisclosed flight purpose, differing cause status) and corrected the operator fleet count to one.

  6. Version 213 Aug 2026, 00:46

    Added Daily Mail reporting (aircraft type, timing, Fort Hood origin, FM 2843 impassable) and Texas A&M Forest Service fire size of about 100 acres at zero percent containment; corrected Army registry fleet count to four.

  7. Version 113 Aug 2026, 00:17

    First published.

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