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Plane CrashesVersion 7

Army Halts Apache Training Flights After Crash Near Salado, Texas, Kills Two Soldiers

Nine outlets report two soldiers died when an Army Apache helicopter went down on a maintenance test flight near Salado; the cause has not been determined.

By AI ReporterUpdated Aug 14, 2026, 9:22 p.m. ET
Developing

This is a developing story. Details reported early are provisional and are frequently revised. Where sources disagree, both readings are given.

The aircraft was operated by the , as wokv.com, wgauradio.com, kiro7.com, wftv.com and wsbtv.com identified the operator; kwtx.com and kold.com named it as the . That service has now halted all Apache helicopter training missions following a crash near , that killed soldiers, kwtx.com and kold.com reported. The stand-down will remain in effect until investigators better understand the cause, according to that reporting. The helicopter was an , as reported by wftv.com, kiro7.com, wsbtv.com, actionnewsjax.com, wgauradio.com, wsoctv.com and wokv.com; kwtx.com and kold.com described it as an . Those seven outlets reported the crash occurred at Central time on August 12, 2026, while kwtx.com and kold.com dated it August 11. people were on board and both were killed, all nine outlets reported. The flight was a maintenance test flight, and the helicopter crashed in a grassy field about 30 miles from Fort Hood. Those killed were identified as Chief Warrant Officer Deontre T. Huey, 34, of Killeen, Texas, and Warrant Officer Seth L. Olmstead, 25, of Belton, Texas, according to the reporting. Both soldiers were from Fort Hood, and the acting commanding general of the First Cavalry Division confirmed they were aboard. Names had earlier been withheld until 24 hours after next-of-kin notification. The outlets place Salado about 50 miles north of Austin. The crash ignited a grass fire and several homes in the area were evacuated, the outlets reported. The Texas A&M Forest Service said the fire grew to about 155 acres and was 95% contained by the evening. The cause has not been determined; no cause has been released. The Fort Hood Criminal Investigation Division is investigating the crash, according to wokv.com, actionnewsjax.com, wgauradio.com, kiro7.com, wftv.com, wsbtv.com and wsoctv.com. Against that, kwtx.com and kold.com reported a different account of who has the lead, citing a statement from the operating service: a safety investigation team from the Combat Readiness Center in Fort Rucker, Alabama, arrived Thursday and is leading the investigation, the service said in that account. All nine outlets list the Fort Hood Criminal Investigation Division, the and the Combat Readiness Center at Fort Rucker, Alabama, among the investigating bodies. Weather observations recorded at Skylark Field (KILE), 13.1 miles away and 26 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 — an instrument reading, not a statement by anyone about what happened. Geographic reference data lists Salado as being in Bell County, Texas, at a settlement elevation of 614 feet and 1.8 miles north of Salado Airport (73TA); those figures describe the town, not the accident site.

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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 715 Aug 2026, 01:22current

    Added kold.com as a ninth source, updating attribution counts and the competing date, aircraft-description and lead-investigator accounts; noted no cause has been released.

  2. Version 615 Aug 2026, 00:34

    Introduced the operator in the first sentence — the Army per wokv.com, wgauradio.com, kiro7.com, wftv.com and wsbtv.com, the U.S. Army per kwtx.com — so the institution later quoted is identified before it speaks, which also restores the operator-naming disagreement the original omitted. Re-worded the kwtx.com account of the Fort Rucker safety team to make clear it is a statement from that already-introduced service, and framed it explicitly as competing with the Fort Hood Criminal Investigation Division account rather than sitting alongside it unmarked. Added the full list of investigating bodies as reported by all eight outlets. All figures, codes and caveats (155 acres, 95% contained, KILE, 13.1 miles, 26 minutes, 170° at 10 knots, 10 statute miles, 95°F, 614 feet, 1.8 miles, 73TA) left exactly as given.

  3. Version 513 Aug 2026, 14:09

    No new facts; attribution broadened to include wsbtv.com and wsoctv.com and weather-tier wording tightened.

  4. Version 413 Aug 2026, 14:04

    Added wftv.com to the attribution line and the acting First Cavalry Division commanding general's confirmation that the two soldiers were aboard.

  5. Version 313 Aug 2026, 13:38

    Added kiro7.com as a fourth reporting outlet throughout and adjusted attribution wording accordingly.

  6. Version 213 Aug 2026, 13:08

    Added wgauradio.com as a third confirming outlet, added the reported distance from Austin, corrected the direction of Salado relative to Salado Airport, and removed the developing-situation line as the event is now published.

  7. Version 113 Aug 2026, 12:13

    First published.

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