FirstAlerts
Plane Crashes

Two U.S. Soldiers Killed in Army AH-64 Apache Crash Near Salado, Texas

Albawaba reported the helicopter, assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, came down in a field on August 12; 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
U.S. soldiers were killed when a helicopter crashed into a field near , at about on August 12, 2026, according to albawaba.com. The outlet reported people were on board and no injuries among others. This remains a developing situation. Albawaba reported the helicopter was found in flames and that the crash caused a large fire that spread to 155 acres, prompting some evacuations before it was contained. No structures were damaged, according to the outlet. The report said the aircraft was assigned to the Army's 1st Cavalry Division based at Fort Hood, and that the soldiers' names were being withheld for 24 hours while families were notified. The cause has not been determined. No investigating authority's findings are on the record in the available reporting. The aircraft involved has not been identified by registration. Registry records list three aircraft under the as operator; that is not an identification of the aircraft in this crash. Geographic reference data places Salado in Bell County, Texas, at a settlement elevation of 614 feet, about 1.8 miles south of Salado Airport (73TA) and 4.1 miles southwest of Salado Bluffs Airport (TT61) — the elevation is that of the town, not of the accident site. Weather observations recorded at Skylark Field (KILE), 13.1 miles away and 26 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. The observation is an instrument reading and is not stated to have any bearing on the crash.

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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 Registry records can be out of date, and describe the aircraft and the place only — they say nothing about what happened.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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