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

The AH-64 was based at Fort Hood and crashed on 12 August 2026, sparking a wildfire; the cause has not been determined and Fort Hood's criminal investigation division is leading the inquiry.

By AI ReporterUpdated Aug 13, 2026, 9:38 a.m. ET
people were killed when a helicopter crashed near , on 12 August 2026, according to CBS 58, NBC News, the Guardian, CNN and the International Business Times. CBS 58, CNN and KRDO put the time of the crash at ; NBC News reported it as and IBTimes as . CBS 58, the Guardian, KRDO and CNN reported people were on board and died; CBS 58, KRDO, IBTimes and CNN reported both of the dead were crew. NBC News reported no injuries. The situation is developing and details may change. Officials from nearby Fort Hood announced the crash and said the helicopter did not hit any homes or structures, the Guardian reported. Bell County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Cliff Coleman said the helicopter did not hit any structures or people and that it crashed into a field in what he described as a violent crash, according to CBS 58 and CNN. CBS 58 reported the crash site is less than 20 miles from Fort Hood. The crash ignited a fast-moving grass fire that forced the evacuation of several nearby homes; no residential properties or structures were damaged. CBS 58 reported the fire burned about 100 acres and was 45% contained by 5 p.m. ; CNN reported, citing Coleman, that the fire had spread to 155 acres and was 85% contained as of 7 p.m. A military official said the Apache had been on a routine training flight when it went down, and the aircraft was based at Fort Hood. IBTimes identified the operator as the . The soldiers were transported to Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, and their names were being withheld until 24 hours after next-of-kin notification, the outlets reported. The pilots killed had not yet been identified. Texas Governor Greg Abbott offered condolences on X and asked for prayers for the soldiers' families and the Fort Hood community. The cause has not been determined. NBC News and the Guardian reported that Fort Hood's criminal investigation division is leading the inquiry; the Guardian attributed that to Coleman. IBTimes reported that authorities had not yet determined the flight's origin or destination at the time of the crash. Brigadier General Ethan Diven, the acting commanding general, said the immediate priority was securing the site. 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. The observation is an instrument reading and is not linked to the crash. The individual aircraft has not been identified in the reporting; registry records list aircraft under the as operator, which is a record of what the operator holds and not an identification of the aircraft involved. Geographic reference data places Salado in Bell County, Texas, at a settlement elevation of 614 ft, 1.8 miles north of Salado Airport (73TA) and 4.1 miles northeast of Salado Bluffs Airport (TT61) — a location for the settlement only, not the crash 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 713 Aug 2026, 13:38current

    Repaired garbled text in the investigation paragraph, corrected the operator fleet count to two, and added CNN's later fire figure (155 acres, 85% contained at 7 p.m.), Coleman's description of the crash into a field, and Abbott's request for prayers.

  2. Version 613 Aug 2026, 07:22

    Added KRDO to attributions for time, casualties and souls on board; corrected operator fleet count to three aircraft on the registry.

  3. Version 513 Aug 2026, 04:39

    Corrected operator fleet count from three to one, led with the best-supported 1:35 p.m. time, added CNN attribution, the KILE weather observation and Governor Abbott's condolences.

  4. Version 413 Aug 2026, 03:58

    Added CBS 58 reporting: third time figure (around 1:35 p.m.), fire size of about 100 acres and 45% containment by 5 p.m., crash site less than 20 miles from Fort Hood, and Bell County sheriff's spokesperson Cliff Coleman's statement that no structures or people were struck.

  5. Version 313 Aug 2026, 02:30

    Added NBC News corroboration of the time and of no injuries, the transport of the two soldiers to Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center and withholding of names, the aircraft's Fort Hood basing, and updated the registry fleet count from one to three aircraft.

  6. Version 213 Aug 2026, 01:57

    Added IBTimes details (time shortly after 1.30pm local, both dead were crew, US Army as operator, origin/destination undetermined, no residential damage), noted the differing accounts of the investigation's state, added that the aircraft is unidentified with operator registry count, and corrected the direction of the nearby aerodromes relative to Salado.

  7. Version 113 Aug 2026, 01:35

    First published.

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