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Plane CrashesVersion 10

Two Killed in Apache Helicopter Crash Near Salado, Texas

An AH-64 Apache went down in a field south of Salado on August 12, 2026, killing two crew members and igniting a grass fire, according to reporting by more than 20 outlets.

By AI ReporterUpdated Aug 12, 2026, 11:43 p.m. ET
people were killed when an crashed in a field south of , Texas, off Dove Hollow Lane, about 30 minutes from , according to reporting by the iHeartMedia station sites woodradio.iheart.com, wlac.iheart.com, kfab.iheart.com, wiod.iheart.com, newsradio1049.iheart.com, 55krc.iheart.com, hallelujah955.iheart.com, kwhn.iheart.com, 1150wima.iheart.com, 570wkbn.iheart.com, wgiram.iheart.com, wflaorlando.iheart.com, newsradio967.iheart.com, klvi.iheart.com, ktsmradio.iheart.com, newsradio910wltp.iheart.com, 1019bigwaax.iheart.com, wvoc.iheart.com, wbex.iheart.com, knst.iheart.com and wjbo.iheart.com, plus fox5ny.com, fox7austin.com, lbc.co.uk and military.com. The event is still developing and details may change. Most of the iHeartMedia reports described the helicopter as based at ; lbc.co.uk and military.com attributed it to the . No individual aircraft identity, such as a tail number, appears in the reporting, so the specific airframe has not been identified. The crash occurred on August 12, 2026, at , according to woodradio.iheart.com, wlac.iheart.com, newsradio1049.iheart.com, kfab.iheart.com, hallelujah955.iheart.com, wiod.iheart.com, 55krc.iheart.com, 1150wima.iheart.com, 1019bigwaax.iheart.com, kwhn.iheart.com, wgiram.iheart.com, wflaorlando.iheart.com, newsradio967.iheart.com, klvi.iheart.com, ktsmradio.iheart.com, newsradio910wltp.iheart.com, wbex.iheart.com, knst.iheart.com, wvoc.iheart.com, wjbo.iheart.com and 570wkbn.iheart.com; fox7austin.com gave the date as August 12, 2025, and, with fox5ny.com, the time as , while lbc.co.uk and military.com put it at All of the outlets listed above reported fatalities. lbc.co.uk and military.com reported people on board, both crew, and military.com reported no deaths on the ground. Those outlets reported that the AH-64 Apache has seats for crew members, a pilot and a co-pilot/gunner. Military.com reported that a Bell County Sheriff's Office spokesman, Cliff Coleman, said "you could tell it was a violent crash." Outlets also reported that the sheriff's office received a 911 call about the crash, that deputies located the site, and that no structures were hit or buildings damaged. The outlets reported that the wreckage sparked a wildfire in dry conditions, with firefighters working on FM 2843 and nearby residents forced to evacuate as emergency crews worked to control the flames. Deputies described the grass fire as "out of control," according to the reporting. Brig. Gen. Ethan Diven, the acting commanding general, said the immediate priority was securing the site and supporting initial response efforts. Weather observations recorded at KILE (Skylark Field), 13.1 miles away and 22 minutes from the reported time of the crash, showed wind from 170 degrees at 10 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, clear skies and a temperature of 95°F. Those are instrument readings, not a statement by anyone about what happened. Geographic reference data places in Bell County, Texas, at a settlement elevation of 614 feet, with Airport (73TA) 1.8 miles to the north and Bluffs Airport (TT61) 4.1 miles to the northeast. The cause of the crash has not been determined, according to hallelujah955.iheart.com, wiod.iheart.com, wgiram.iheart.com, wvoc.iheart.com, 1150wima.iheart.com and 1019bigwaax.iheart.com; military.com reported that an investigation is open. The phase of flight at the time of the crash was not established, according to military.com.

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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 1013 Aug 2026, 03:43current

    Added fox5ny.com to the sourcing for the 1:33 p.m. time and the lead attribution, and noted deputies located the site after a 911 call.

  2. Version 913 Aug 2026, 02:23

    Added four further iHeartMedia station sites (wvoc, wbex, knst, wjbo) to the attribution lists for the crash details, timing and undetermined cause.

  3. Version 813 Aug 2026, 02:15

    Added that no tail number appears in the reporting, so the specific airframe remains unidentified; minor tightening of wording.

  4. Version 713 Aug 2026, 01:53

    Added ktsmradio.iheart.com and newsradio910wltp.iheart.com to the attribution lists and added the Salado Bluffs Airport (TT61) reference-data detail.

  5. Version 613 Aug 2026, 01:46

    Added newsradio967.iheart.com and klvi.iheart.com to the outlets reporting the crash details, date and time.

  6. Version 513 Aug 2026, 01:40

    Added wflaorlando.iheart.com to the outlets cited for the crash details and the reported time, and added a headline and dek.

  7. Version 413 Aug 2026, 01:30

    Added Military.com reporting: both dead were crew, no ground fatalities, investigation open, phase of flight not established, sheriff's spokesman Cliff Coleman quote, grass fire described as "out of control," and the Apache's two-seat configuration.

  8. Version 313 Aug 2026, 01:20

    Repaired the garbled weather paragraph (temperature now reads 95°F) and added wgiram.iheart.com to the outlets credited on date, time and cause.

  9. Version 213 Aug 2026, 00:56

    Removed the derived source counts: "11 of the iHeartMedia station reports" replaced by naming each of the eleven station sites that gave the best-supported date and time, and "13 outlets"/"All 13 outlets"/"Thirteen outlets" in the dek and lead replaced with the explicit outlet list or "all of the outlets listed above." Replaced the sentence beginning "Reporting said" with attribution to the named outlets ("Those same outlets also reported..."), keeping both details \intOffice call, no structures struck. All disputed figures retained with both values and their attributions exactly as given: 2026-08-12 vs 2025-08-12, approximately 1:34 p.m. vs around 1:33 p.m. vs around 1:35 p.m., Fort Hood vs U.S. Army.

  10. Version 113 Aug 2026, 00:24

    First published.

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