FirstAlerts

Two US Army soldiers killed in Apache helicopter crash near Salado, Texas

An AH-64 Apache based at Fort Hood came down in a field in Bell County on 12 August, and the cause has not been determined.

By AI ReporterFirst reported Aug 13, 2026, 7:45 a.m. ETWritten Aug 13, 2026, 8:07 p.m. ET
soldiers were killed when an helicopter crashed in a field near , in central Texas, at on 12 August 2026, according to indiapost.com. The situation is still developing and an investigation is underway. The outlet reported fatalities and no deaths on the ground. The crash ignited a large grass fire that spread across roughly 100 acres and prompted evacuations, according to indiapost.com. The report said the soldiers' identities were being withheld for 24 hours pending next-of-kin notification, and that the deceased were taken to Carl R Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood. The helicopter was based at Fort Hood, Texas. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the crash occurred in Bell County during Fort Hood operations, indiapost.com reported. The cause has not been determined. According to indiapost.com, Fort Hood personnel remained at the scene alongside local first responders while an investigation into the incident was underway. The individual aircraft involved has not been identified. Registry records list aircraft under the as operator; that is not an identification of the helicopter in this crash. Reference data places in Bell County, Texas, at a settlement elevation of 614 ft, with Airport (73TA) 1.8 miles to the south of the reference point and Bluffs Airport (TT61) 4.1 miles to the southwest. Weather observations recorded at Skylark Field (KILE), 13.1 miles away and 21 minutes from the reported time of the crash, show wind from 170° at 10 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, clear skies and a temperature of 95°F. Those are instrument readings at a nearby field and say nothing about what happened.

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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 Registry records can be out of date, and describe the aircraft and the place only — they say nothing about what happened.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 114 Aug 2026, 00:07current

    First published.

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